Ayla Akat Ata
{{short description|Kurdish politician of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in Batman, Turkey}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ayla Akat Ata
| office = Member of the Grand National Assembly
| constituency = Batman (2007, 2011)
| legislature =
| country =
| termstart = 2007
| termend = 2015
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|2|16}}
| birth_place = Diyarbakır, Turkey
| alma_mater = Dicle University
| image =
| children = 1
| birth_name = Ayla Akat Ata
}}
Ayla Akat Ata (born 16 February 1976) is a Kurdish{{cite news |title=Anayasada 'İki Dil Bir Bavul' krizi |url=https://www.istanbulgercegi.com/anayasada-iki-dil-bir-bavul-krizi_31472.html |access-date=21 March 2020 |date=6 October 2012 |language=tr}} lawyer and former member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). She is a women's rights activist{{Cite book|last1=Drechselová|first1=Lucie|title=Kurds in Turkey: Ethnographies of Heterogeneous Experiences|last2=Çelik|first2=Adnan|date=2019-06-27|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-7525-6|pages=32|language=en}} and the co-founder of the Free Women's Congress (KJA). Besides she was also involved in the negotiations between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Government in 2013.
Early life and education
Ayla Akat Ata was born in Diyarbakır in 1976. Since graduating from the Faculty of Law at Dicle University in Diyarbakır, she has been working as a lawyer. She is a member of the Turkish Human Rights Association (İHD),{{cite web |year= |title=Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi 23. Dönem Milletvekili |url=https://www.tbmm.gov.tr/milletvekili/MilletvekiliDetay?donemKod=23&sicil=WQQgWVZOHt8%3D |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=18 October 2022 |publisher=Grand National Assembly of Turkey}} and a co-founder of the Free Women's Congress (KJA), which is organized through an assembly of 501 members.{{Cite web|last=Daudén|first=Laura|title=In the context of life and death, non-violence is a privilege|url=https://sur.conectas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/22-sur-24-ing-ayla-akat-ata.pdf|access-date=28 September 2020|page=240}}
Political career
In July 2007, she stood as an independent candidate in the Turkish parliamentary elections and entered the Turkish Parliament,{{Cite web|url=https://secim.haberler.com/2007/batman-secim-sonuclari/|title=Batman SEÇİM SONUÇLARI|website=secim.haberler.com|access-date=2020-01-07}} joining the Democratic Society Party (DTP).{{Cite web|date=15 April 2015|title=DtP Protests: AKP Seeking Revenge for Election Results|url=https://bianet.org/bianet/english/113825-dtp-protests-akp-seeking-revenge-for-election-results|access-date=27 October 2021|website=Bianet}} After the DTP was banned on 11 December 2009,{{Cite news|last=Aydinli|first=Pinar|date=2009-12-11|title=Turkey's top court bans pro-Kurdish party|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-kurds-idUSTRE5BA3HA20091211|access-date=2021-10-27}} she joined the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
She was re-elected in the 12 June 2011 general election.{{Cite web|url=https://secim.haberler.com/2011/batman-secim-sonuclari/|title=BATMAN 2011 GENEL SEÇİM SONUÇLARI|website=secim.haberler.com|access-date=2020-01-07}} In January 2013 she was involved in the peace process between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Turkish Government and met with Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı prison together with Ahmet Türk.{{Cite web|date=25 November 2016|title=Ahmet Türk Arrested|url=http://bianet.org/english/politics/181118-ahmet-turk-arrested|url-status=live|access-date=9 February 2020|website=Bianet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126152847/http://bianet.org/english/politics/181118-ahmet-turk-arrested |archive-date=2016-11-26 }}{{Cite news|last=Cakan|first=Seyhmus|date=2013-01-03|title=Turkish Kurd deputies meet jailed militant leader Ocalan: lawmaker|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-kurds-idUSBRE9020K720130103|access-date=2021-10-27}} In 2015, she unsuccessfully demanded the abolition of the article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes insulting the Turkish president.{{Cite web|date=24 February 2015|title=Deputy Proposes the Decriminalization of Insulting President|url=https://m.bianet.org/bianet/politics/162586-deputy-proposes-the-decriminalization-of-insulting-president|access-date=27 October 2021|website=Bianet}}
= Legal prosecution =
In September 2007, she and Aysel Tuğluk were charged with “conducting propaganda for an outlawed organization” and “aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.”{{cite web|date=2007-09-05|title=Turkish State steps up pressure on Kurdish politicians|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=32971|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225155746/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=32971#|archive-date=2010-12-25|access-date=2009-08-19|publisher=Jamestown Foundation}} On the 26 October 2016, she was detained and later arrested while attending a protest against the dismissal of the Co-Mayors Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı{{Cite web|date=30 May 2017|title=HDP's Akat Ata, Aktaş Released|url=https://m.bianet.org/english/politics/197701-hdp-s-akat-ata-aktas-released|access-date=27 October 2021|website=Bianet}} and accused of "managing a terrorist organization"{{Cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-court-arrests-diyarbakir-co-mayors-105554|title=Turkish court arrests Diyarbakır co-mayors - Turkey News|website=Hürriyet Daily News|language=en|access-date=2020-02-10}} also due to her activities in the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). She was released on the 4 May 2017.{{Cite web|title=KJA Spokeswoman Ayla Akat Ata released from prison|url=https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/kja-spokeswoman-ayla-akat-ata-released-from-prison-19853|url-status=live|access-date=2020-02-10|website=Firat News Agency|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916081803/https://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/kja-spokeswoman-ayla-akat-ata-released-from-prison-19853 |archive-date=2021-09-16 }} She was re-arrested in February 2018 for a speech she gave in relation of Kamber Moroç who had died as Turkish soldiers opened fire on a bus.{{Cite web|title=HDP's Akat Ata, Aktaş Released|url=https://m.bianet.org/english/politics/197701-hdp-s-akat-ata-aktas-released|access-date=10 February 2020|website=Bianet}} In this case she was released in May 2018. In September 2020, she was detained with other 82 politicians over accusations that she supported the Kobanî protests in 2014, which were in support of the Kurdish population besieged in Kobanî by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).{{Cite web|title=Turkish police detain HDP members, including Mayor Bilgen, over 2014 Kobane protests|url=https://www.duvarenglish.com/politics/2020/09/25/turkish-police-detain-hdp-members-including-mayor-bilgen-over-2014-kobane-protests/|access-date=2020-09-28|website=www.duvarenglish.com|language=en-GB}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Akat Ata, Ayla}}
Category:People from Diyarbakır
Category:Democratic Regions Party politicians
Category:Democratic Society Party politicians
Category:Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians
Category:Members of the 24th Parliament of Turkey
Category:Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey
Category:Dicle University alumni
Category:21st-century Turkish women politicians