Eren Erdem

Eren Erdem (born 14 August 1986) is a Turkish writer and politician from the Republican People's Party (CHP), who has served as a Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 7 June 2015.

Eren Erdem
Member of the Grand National Assembly
Assumed office
7 June 2015
Constituencyİstanbul (June 2015, Nov 2015)
Personal details
Born (1986-08-14) August 14, 1986
Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality Turkey
Political partyRepublican People's Party

Biography

Eren Erdem was born in Fatih, İstanbul on 14 August 1986 to Hasan Erdem and his wife Hüsniye. He completed his primary and secondary education in İstanbul. During his youth, he worked as an auxiliary staff to make extra money. He wrote eight books:[1]

  • Gayya Karanlığından Kur’an Aydınlığına, Abdestli Kapitalizm
  • Nurjuvazi
  • Şeytan Evliyaları
  • Selman-ı Pak
  • İslam ve Kapitalizm
  • Riya Tabirleri, Devrim Ayetleri

Erdem was elected as a Republican People's Party (CHP) Member of Parliament for Istanbul in the June 2015 general election. He was re-elected in November 2015. He is married with one child and can speak English at a fluent level.[2]

Erdem leaked a number of documents from Turkish government surveillance of ISIL-members.[3] The documents are said to show detailed information about activities and locations of ISIL-members, but also a lack of action on part of the Turkish government.[3] Erdem has alleged a cover-up by the Turkish government, which is implicated in having poor control of the Turkish-Syrian border.[3] Erdem also claims that sarin-gas was transported through Turkey to Syria, later used in the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013,[4][5] as well as later ISIL-attacks against civilians.[6] Erdem showed before the parliament a case where investigations leading to the arrest of 13 potential Turkish ISIL-members were made, but later inexplicably dropped.[7] The leaks are also said to implicate that Erdogan's immediate family in his son-in-law made financial gain through oil-deals with ISIL-members.[8]

The material was released through an interview with the English-language Russian news-service Russia Today, and has been said to promote Russian anti-AK Party and anti-Erdogan sentiment.[9] Erdem faces treason charges in Turkey for his leaks.[5] A trial was also directed to two journalists who reported on the story, but it has since been dropped.[10] The prosecution has been seen as a leg in President Erdogan's crackdown on dissent.[11]

2018: new arrest

In June, 2018, he was arrested again, charged with issues which include his role as an editor-in-chief of the Karşı newspaper, the revealing the identity of a secret witness and his alleged support for the Gülen movement.[12]

A court in Istanbul freed him on January 7, 2019, but he was immediately rearrested.[13] In February 2019, it was reported that Erdem was on hunger strike.[14] On October 31, the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's office ordered that Erdem be released.[15]

References
  1. "Biography". www.haberler.com. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  2. "Eren Erdem's official biography". erenerdem.net. Archived from the original on 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  3. "Leaked wiretaps of ISIS agents show Ankara routinely ignores terrorist cross-border activity". RT International. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  4. "Calling (Again) for Proof: 2013 Sarin Attack at Ghouta". The Huffington Post. 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  5. "Turkish MP faces treason charges after telling RT ISIS used Turkey for transiting sarin". RT International. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  6. Webb, Sam (2015-12-16). "Explosive claims about where ISIS obtained chemical weapons from". mirror. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  7. "Sarin gas materials sent to Isis from Turkey, claims MP Eren Erdem - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  8. "Erdogan's son-in-law 'linked to Isis oil trade' | The Times". The Times. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  9. "IS and Russia Could Exploit Turkey's Political Divisions". Breaking Energy. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  10. "Turkish journalists who reported on alleged arms smuggling to Syria terror groups have trial adjourned - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  11. "Top Turkish 'traitors' according to Erdogan and Davutoglu". RT International. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  12. Eren Erdem, June 29, 2018, Committee to Protect Journalists
  13. Warrant issued for former CHP deputy Eren Erdem shortly after his release, January 07 2019, Hurriyet
  14. Jailed Turkish politician investigated for beginning hunger strike, Feb 01 2019
  15. "Verdict of Release for Former CHP MP Eren Erdem". Bianet. 31 October 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.