Dr Ata Soyer is one of 28 people who have recently received death threats: a leaflet threatening people who are Kurdish members of parliament, or who have spoken out in some way on behalf of Kurds, has been distributed in several towns in the southeast of Turkey. Dr Soyer is not himself a Kurd but is said to have helped Iraqi Kurdish refugees fleeing after the Gulf War. The leaflet is signed Islami Cihad-B (Islami Yumruk) (Islamic Holy War – B (Fist of Islam)), a hitherto unknown organization. However, the threats are widely attributed to the security forces. One of those named on the list, Leyla Zana, an independent MP for Diyarbakir, claims to have been directly threatened by the Commander of the Gendarmerie in Diyarbakir.
