Deniz Poyraz was commemorated in İzmir, Turkey on the third anniversary of her murder. She was fatally attacked in a racist assault on the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) İzmir HQs on 17 June 2021.
The commemorative event gathered Deniz Poyraz’s family, İzmir Peace Mothers Assembly and representatives from the HDP’s successor, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, including İzmir MPs Ibrahim Akın and Burcu Gül Çubuk, and DEM Party İzmir co-presidents Vezan Karabulut and Mehmet Kuruş.
The ceremony began with the recitation of prayers and a moment of silence. DEM Party İzmir Co-President Vezan Karabulut condemned escalating pressures and persecutions against their party and women:
“Deniz Poyraz’s murder was political. This crime remains one of the biggest obstacles to the country’s democratisation. As long as killers go unpunished, these murders will continue.”
Deniz Poyraz’s mother, Fehime Poyraz, described Deniz not just as her daughter but as a daughter of the Kurdish people, lamenting, “They brutally murdered you. I remained defiant against the perpetrators and didn’t cry on the first day, but today, I cry because I miss you terribly.”
Abdüllillah Poyraz, Deniz’s father, pledged to continue supporting their cause, declaring, “As long as we live, we will walk in their footsteps. As long as we live, Deniz will live in our hearts.”
Following the cemetery gathering, participants moved to Konak Pier, where carnations were tossed into the sea in memory of Deniz Poyraz.
