Nurcan Baysal is a Kurdish author and human rights defender. She is also a regular columnist with the independent Turkish new site, Ahval.
She was born and grew up in Diyarbakır. She was engaged in the establishment of a number of NGOs in the Region. For many years, she has worked for the rights of the forced migrated Kurdish population, evacuated villages, the rights of returnees, reconciliation and rural development. Baysal serves as an advisor or board member to different non-profit organizations. She is one of the founders of the Platform to Save Women Kidnapped by ISIS and Diyarbakir Political and Social Research Institute (DISA). She is a member of the women’s movement and several peace movements in Turkey.
She is the author of O Gün (That Day), Kürdistan’da Sivil Toplum (Civil Society in Kurdistan, co-author), Ezidiler: 73. Ferman (Ezidis: 73rd Verdict) and O Sesler (Those Voices). She is one of the very few reporting from the inside of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, from the proud and ancient heart of Kurds living in Turkey – the city of Diyarbakir. She focuses on human rights and war crimes in her articles.
Nurcan Baysal was awarded the “Brave Women Journalists Award” presented by the Italian Women Journalists Association in 2017. She is Global Laureate for Human Rights Defenders at Risk for 2018 of the Front Line Defenders Award. There are several court cases and threats against her because of her articles about human rights and war crimes in Kurdistan.