Leyla Zana (born 3 May 1961) is a Kurdish politician. She was imprisoned for ten years for her political activism, which was deemed by the Turkish courts to be against the unity of the country. She was awarded the 1995 Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament but was unable to collect it until her release in 2004.

Leyla Zana (3 Mayıs 1961, Diyarbakır), Kürt asıllı Türk siyasetçi. Zana 1991-94 yılları arasında Diyarbakır ve 2011-18 yılları arasında ise Ağrı milletvekili olarak Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisinde yer aldı.

Feb 19, 2013 · Turkey imprisoned the Kurdish politician Leyla Zana for 10 years, but she continues her activism on behalf of the Kurds and is hopeful that eventually, their fate as an independent people will...

May 24, 2012 · A Turkish court sentences Kurdish MP Leyla Zana to 10 years in prison on charges of spreading propaganda for the militant PKK group.

Leyla Zana, who suffers from a liver condition and advanced osteoporosis, remains in prison despite of all international protest, while her husband, son, and daughter are in exile in Europe.

Leyla Zana was imprisoned for two months after leading a protest of families who were prohibited from visiting their relatives in prison. She learnt Turkish as a result of her visits to her husband in prison, as security forces were violent towards anyone speaking Kurdish.

Dec 5, 1996 · Leyla Zana was the first Kurdish woman ever to serve in the Turkish parliament. She was elected to serve the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir by an overwhelming margin on October 20, 1991. She had run a campaign of validating the civil rights of the Kurds.

Dec 5, 2008 · A Turkish court sentenced the Kurdish human rights activist Leyla Zana (47), right, to 10 years in prison on 4 December, reported Reuters, BBC and other international media. Zana was awarded the Rafto Prize in 1994.

Jan 24, 2024 · Kurdish icon Leyla Zana broke her silence after years of not making public comments and not giving interviews. Her reason to withdraw herself was that she was in a deep mourning after the city wars in Kurdish neighbourhoods in 2015 and 2016 cost the lives of so many young Kurds, and she felt she didn’t have an answer to why this all happened.

Leyla Zana, specifically, was accused of wearing clothes and accessories associated with the Kurdish flag during a public address. In December 1994, Leyla Zana was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, further deepening the injustice and oppression faced by the Kurdish population.