Prime Minister Barzani Condoles Family of Renowned Kurdish Politician Mahdi Zana
KRG Prime Minister extends condolences to the family of the celebrated Kurdish activist, with special regards to his wife, iconic Kurdish politician Leyla Zana
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Kurdistan Region Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani extended his condolences on Saturday to the family of renowned Kurdish politician Mahdi Zana, expressing special regards to his wife, iconic Kurdish politician Leyla Zana, in a message posted on X.
"I extend my condolences to the family of the renowned Kurdish politician Mahdi Zana. Respect and regards to his esteemed family, especially to his dear sister Leyla Zana," Masrour Barzani wrote in Kurdish on X. "Mahdi Zana was one of the prominent Kurdish activists who spent a long life in the struggle of the Kurdish people. May his soul rest in peace and may he be in paradise."
Ez sersaxiyê ji malbata siyasetmedarê Kurd ê navdar Mehdî Zana re dixwazim. Rêz û hurmet ji bo malbata wan ya birêz bi taybet ji bo xoşka hêja Leyla Zana. Mehdî Zana yek ji xebatkarên Kurd ên navdar bû, ku jiyanek dirêj di têkoşîna gelê Kurd de derbas kir.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) August 29, 2026
Ruhê wî şad û cîhê wî…
Mahdi Zana was the husband of Leyla Zana, one of the most celebrated and internationally recognized Kurdish political figures of the modern era. Leyla Zana made history in 1991 when she became the first Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and her subsequent imprisonment for ten years on charges of terrorism-related offenses, widely condemned by international human rights organizations as politically motivated, made her a global symbol of the Kurdish struggle for rights and recognition. She was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament in 1995 while still imprisoned.
Mahdi Zana himself was a prominent figure in the Kurdish political movement in Turkey, having served as the mayor of Diyarbakir, the largest predominantly Kurdish city in southeastern Türkiye, in the early 1980s. He was imprisoned for years following the 1980 Turkish military coup, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of the repression of Kurdish political identity during that era. His life, like Leyla Zana's, was defined by decades of political activism, imprisonment, and an unwavering commitment to the Kurdish people's rights and aspirations.
Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's condolences reflect the deep bonds of solidarity between the Kurdistan Region's leadership and Kurdish political figures across all parts of Kurdistan, and the respect in which Mahdi Zana and Leyla Zana are held across the broader Kurdish political world.