Former DEP deputy Orhan Dogan lost his life in the morning of June 29 at Van Yuzuncu Yil University Research Hospital where he had been treated after a heart attack.
Orhan Dogan, elected as deputy in 1991, had been arrested and imprisoned together with Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak and Leyla Zana for 10.5 years and was only released in 2004. Dogan was a member of the Central Leading Council of the DTP (Party for a Democratic Society).
Orhan Dogan's corpse was buried on June 30 in a funeral participated by many people. 15.000 people gathered in front of the hospital in Van where he lost his life to take the body of Dogan over. When the police attacked the funeral march using gas bombs, clashes came up. A large number of people were arrested. Dogan's body was taken from Van to Cizre by a convoy escort of 500 cars passing several towns and small towns. Wherever the convoy passed, the masses saluted the dead body of Dogan with carnations. In Cizre, a mass of 200.000 people was present when the body of Orhan was buried with applause, traditional Kurdish outcries and slogans like "Şehit Namirin!" ("The martyrs are immortal"), "We are all Orhan, Orhan is here" and "The PKK are the people, the people are here".