Sara Kaya
{{short description|Kurdish politician from Turkey}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Sara Kaya
| office = Mayor of Nusaybin
| termstart = 2014
| termend = 2016
| birth_date = 1 January 1970
| birth_place = Nusaybin, Mardin, Turkey
| party = Peace and Democracy Party
| alma_mater = Anadolu University
| nationality = Kurdish
| citizenship = Turkish
}}
Sara Kaya (born 1 January 1970 in Nusaybin) is a Kurdish politician from Turkey and a former mayor of Nusaybin. She is currently being held at the Tarsus prison in Mersin.{{Cite web|title=Nusaybin mayor Kaya transferred to Tarsus T-Type Closed Prison|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/nusaybin-mayor-kaya-transferred-to-tarsus-t-type-closed-prison-40285|access-date=2021-01-12|website=ANF News|language=en}}
Education and professional career
Sara Kaya was born to Kurdish parents in Nusaybin, Midyat where she attended primary and secondary education. She graduated in construction engineering at the Dicle University in Diyarbakir and later also in Business Administration from the Anadolu University in Eskişehir.{{Cite web|title=Sara Kaya Kimdir ? - Sara Kaya Hayatı ve Biyografisi|url=https://www.haberler.com/sara-kaya/biyografisi/|access-date=2021-01-12|website=www.haberler.com}} She was employed for nineteen years at the Municipality of Nusaybin during which she acted for several years the speaker of the workers union of the municipality.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Biographies of Kurdish Mayors in Prison|url=http://en.hdpeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BIOs_KurdishMayorsinPrison.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716140524/http://en.hdpeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/BIOs_KurdishMayorsinPrison.pdf|archive-date=16 July 2018|access-date=12 January 2021|website=HDPEurope|page=32}}
Political career
During the local elections of 2014, she was elected Mayor of Nusaybin representing the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).{{Cite web|title=Seçim 2014 Mardin Nusaybin Yerel Seçim Sonuçları|url=https://www.haberturk.com/secim/secim2014/yerel-secim/ilce/nusaybin-615|access-date=2021-01-12|website=www.haberturk.com}} Her tenure was marked by the declaration of self governance{{Cite web|title=Nusaybin Belediye Başkanı Sara Kaya tahliye edildi|url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/nusaybin-belediye-baskani-sara-kaya-tahliye-edildi-413557|access-date=2021-01-12|website=www.cumhuriyet.com.tr|language=tr}} and the subsequent curfews in Nusaybin.{{Cite web|title=Curfew Lifted in Nusaybin|url=https://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/170474-curfew-lifted-in-nusaybin|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi}} She has been described as a supporter of the Yazidi as well as a feminist.{{Cite web|last=à 18h46|first=Par Le 11 mars 2018|date=2018-03-11|title=Vitry : le maire parraine une co-maire kurde emprisonnée|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/val-de-marne-94/vitry-le-maire-parraine-une-co-maire-kurde-emprisonnee-11-03-2018-7602666.php|access-date=2021-01-12|website=leparisien.fr|language=fr-FR}}
= Prosecution =
She was detained on the 28 August 2015 for having announced the city would govern itself and later transferred from detention in Mardin to a prison in Sincan, Ankara in September 2015.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Nusaybin Co-Mayor Sara Kaya Unseated|url=https://www.bianet.org/english/politics/167463-nusaybin-co-mayor-sara-kaya-unseated|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Bianet}} She was released from prison pending trial in November 2015. Kaya was unseated from her post as a Mayor in September 2016{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Curfew Declared in One Neighbourhood in Nusaybin|url=https://www.bianet.org/english/human-rights/189545-curfew-declared-in-one-neighbourhood-in-nusaybin|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Bianet}} and re-arrested in January 2017.{{Cite web|title=Jailed Kurdish mayor faces trial on evidence police admit was faked|url=https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-kurds/jailed-kurdish-mayor-faces-trial-evidence-police-admit-was-faked|access-date=2021-01-12|website=Ahval|language=en}} Her lawyer in 2018 was Kamuran Tanhan, who claimed the police fabricated evidence against Kaya.{{Cite web |date=2018 |title=Jailed Kurdish mayor faces trial on evidence police admit was faked |url=https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-kurds/jailed-kurdish-mayor-faces-trial-evidence-police-admit-was-faked |website=Ahval}} In 2019 she was moved to Tarsus prison in Mersin.{{Cite web|title=Nusaybin mayor Kaya transferred to Tarsus T-Type Closed Prison|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/nusaybin-mayor-kaya-transferred-to-tarsus-t-type-closed-prison-40285|access-date=2021-01-12|website=ANF News|language=en}} Sara Kaya was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020 majorly for being a member of an illegal organization and 2 1/2 years for misconduct in office.{{Cite web|title=Former co-mayor of Nusaybin sentenced to 16 years in prison|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/former-co-mayor-of-nusaybin-sentenced-to-16-years-in-prison-44731|access-date=2021-01-12|website=ANF News|language=en}} She was released on 10th of May 2024.{{Cite web|title=10 years in prison and release order for former Nusaybin Municipality co-mayor Kaya|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/10-years-in-prison-and-release-order-for-former-nusaybin-municipality-co-mayor-kaya-73197| access-date=2024-05-25|website=ANF News|language=en}}
Personal life
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaya, Sara}}
Category:Turkish Kurdish politicians
Category:Anadolu University alumni
Category:Women mayors of places in Turkey
Category:People expelled from public office