Diyarbakir - Hukukculugumdan Utaniyarum

Overview

The documentary about Kurdish lawyers Serafettin Kaya and Rusen Arslan reflects the experiences of Kurds with the power of the Turkish judicial system. After the military coup in Turkey in 1971, the two defend opposition Kurds arrested in Diyarbakir. In their pleas, Kaya and Arslan break a taboo by insisting on the Kurdish language, culture, and identity of their clients. As a result, they are temporarily arrested as "separatists." After the second coup by the Turkish military in 1980, mass trials against Kurdish opposition figures took place. Arslan was already in prison, while Kaya spoke publicly about the military's use of torture and became a victim of it himself. At the beginning of the 1980s, Kaya and his friend Arslan were able to flee to West Germany.