Zeki Kaya, from the '68 revolutionary youth, passed away

Zeki Kaya, one of the youth leaders of ’68, who has been living in Sweden for many years, has passed away.

Born in the village of Karaşeyh in Doğubayazıt (Ağrı) in 1947, Zeki Kaya graduated from Ankara School of Health after going to high school at Ağrı High School.

He took part in the youth movement in Ankara. He served as Member of the Board of the Revolutionary Eastern Culture Houses (DDKO). He was arrested after the fascist military coup on 12 March 1971 and was brutally tortured.

Kaya, who was held in Ankara Closed Prison for a time, was later sent to Diyarbakır Closed Prison. He held his uncompromising and determined stance in the court as well as in prison. He bravely defended the Kurdish issue in court. He exposed the assimilation, oppression and torture of the Kurdish people.

Kaya, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Martial Law Court, went to Syria and then to Lebanon after his release. Later, he went to Bulgaria and studied economics at the University of Sofia and got his PhD in the field.

After coming to Sweden in 1985, he took part in political and cultural works. He continued to expose the Turkish state's assimilation policy. Kaya, who earned his livelihood with a small market he opened in a district outside Stockholm, gained the love and respect of all Swedish and immigrants living in the district with his solidarity and honesty.

He passed away on 30 April.