Turkey: Far right leader slammed over insults to Kurdish historical figure

Victory Party leader Umit Ozdag came under fire by many Kurds on Twitter after he insulted the religious leader of a Kurdish historical rebellion.

During a discussion on social media, Ozdag called Sheikh Said “a dog,” saying “my grandfather Major Mikail took him to Diyarbakir to be hanged.”

In 1925, Sheikh Said revolted against the newly-founded Turkish state but was later captured and executed. The rebellion named after him is now remembered as the first large-scale nationalist rebellion by the Kurds in Turkey.

The Sheikh Said Association denounced the far right leader’s offense, saying the Kurdish leader is “the honour of a people.”

Kasim Firat, the grandson of Sheikh Said and the president of the association, told Rudaw that he will file a lawsuit against Ozdag for insulting his grandfather. 

Diyarbakir and Urfa Bar Associations also said they filed a criminal complaint against Ozdag. Many users on Twitter changed their profile pictures to Sheikh Said. 

The anti-immigrant leader Umit Ozdag is known in Turkey for his racist comments against the Syrian refugees. He repeatedly said if he was elected, he would immediately send the 4 million refugees back to Syria.