Imprisoned in a maximum-security jail since November 2016, Selahattin Demirtas continues to advocate for the Turkish people as both an author and a politician. He wrote and published Seher (Dawn) in 2017 and ran for president in 2018, both from behind bars.
Born in 1973, Demirtas has been a member of the parliament of Turkey since 2007. From 2014 to 2018 he was the co-leader of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a left-wing pro-Kurdish party with an emphasis on progressive values, feminism and LGBTQ rights. He passionately believes in the liberal, democratic and egalitarian future of Turkey.
Demirtas faces a 183-year prison sentence. Dawn is his first book.
The extraordinary short story collection from Selahattin Demirtas, "the dynamic Kurdish politician whose coolness and rhetorical skill have evoked comparisons to President Obama" (New York Times)
