Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a member of the Turkish parliament representing Istanbul for the opposition DEM Party, passed away on Saturday (May 3) after experiencing a heart attack on April 15th.

Önder’s death was announced by the Florence Nightingale Hospital in Istanbul, where he had been in critical condition for two and a half weeks. An announcement from the hospital identified Önder’s cause of death as ‘multiple organ failure’.

In addition to his membership in parliament, Önder was well-known for his role in the ongoing Kurdish peace process, which involved multiple visits to the prison island of İmrali in the Sea of Marmara to visit Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

Born in Turkey’s southeastern Adıyaman province, Önder’s early activist years as a student were marked by events such as the 1978 massacre of Alevis in Kahramanmaraş, as well as the 1980 military coup d’etat, after which he spent time in prison before being released in........

© Medyascope