| Cihan Erdal | |
| Occupation: | Sociologist |
| Awards: | SSHRC Doctoral award |
Cihan Erdal is a Turkish human rights activist and PhD candidate at Carleton University. Erdal was arrested by the Turkish government in 2020 and held as a political prisoner for nine months due to his prior involvement with the left wing, pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party.[1] [2]
On 25 September 2020, Erdal was arrested shortly after arriving in Istanbul on 25 September 2020, shortly after arriving in the city to conduct doctoral research.[3] Erdal was detained as part of a series of mass arrests that targeted HDP politicians, activists, and others allegedly involved in the 2014 Kobanî protests.[4] The Turkish government charged 108 individuals, including Erdal, with a litany of offences, including murder, terrorism, and seeking to "destroy the unity and integrity of the state."[5]
The arrest of Erdal, a Canadian permanent resident, prompted strong reactions from a number of Canadian organizations. Carleton University's Department of Sociology and Anthropology condemned the arrest, stating that "[t]he charges stem from events back in 2014, which the Turkish government are using to continue persecuting members of the leftist HDP political party, the third largest party in Turkey’s parliament."[6] CUPE also condemned the arrest and called on the Canadian government to demand Erdal's immediate release and safe return to Canada.[7]
In April 2021, Erdal was denied bail, forcing him to remain in prison while awaiting trial.[8]
In September 2021, the United Nations' Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released an opinion concluding that Erdal's arrest and subsequent detention were arbitrary and lacking any legal basis.[9]
Erdal was released from prison in June 2021, but was forced to remain in Turkey awaiting permission to leave the country.[10] After several months, Erdal eventually walked for hours to the Turkish border in order to claim political asylum in a third country. He returned to Canada in September 2022.[11]
Erdal's graduate research "focused on the reproduction of abilik (big brotherhood), a form of institutionalized hierarchy based on age, experience, and gender faced by youth in the left political space of Turkey in the 2000s."[12] His current doctoral research examines "the experiences of young people who were engaged in activism for radical social change in Europe, primarily in the cities of Athens, Istanbul and Paris, during the 2010s and 2020s."[13] He is a SSHRC Award recipient.[14]
Erdal is openly gay.[15] During his imprisonment, concerns were raised by both Erdal and his supporters that his background as an LGBTQ+ rights activist could make him a target for additional abuse by Turkish authorities.[16] [17]