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Emine Dizdarlı is a distinguished legal professional who has held significant positions within the Turkish Cypriot judicial system. After completing her legal education in London, she began her career as a lawyer in 1987. In 1992, she was appointed as a District Court Judge, steadily advancing in her career until she was appointed as a Supreme Court Judge in 2013. Additionally, in 2015, she took on the role of High Administrative Auditor (Ombudsman). Beyond her judicial career, she also served as a Military Judge at the Court of Appeals for the Security Forces and as a member of the Legal Council. She is now retired and currently serves as the President of the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation.With her extensive experience in the legal field and contributions to human rights, Emine Dizdarlı remains a prominent figure in the Turkish Cypriot community.
Yetin Arslan is a faculty member at the Department of Cinema and Television at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU). She completed her high school education at Türk Maarif Koleji. In 1995, she earned her undergraduate degree in Radio, Television, and Cinema at EMU. She then pursued a master’s degree in Communication and Media Studies at the same university, graduating in 2002, with her research focusing on media representations of Turkish Cypriot identity. Continuing her academic journey at EMU, she completed her PhD in Communication and Media Studies in 2011, with a dissertation exploring how meanings related to Cyprus are reconstructed with the opening of new lines of communication. Driven by her passion for visual storytelling and its significance in memory studies, she also completed a second master’s degree in Digital Documentary at the University of Sussex in 2009. Her research interests include documentary cinema, identity, gender, film, and memory studies. Yetin also conducts research focused on media and human rights. Believing in the importance of activism for a more livable world, Yetin has been involved in various civil society organizations. She currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation and as a board member of the Media Ethics Council of Northern Cyprus
In 2008, Öncel Polili was registered as a lawyer with the Nicosia Bar. In 2011, he established his own law office, and in 2014, he became a founding partner of Ledra Law Firm. Specializing in Human Rights Law, Öncel Polili has represented clients in numerous significant cases concerning human rights, both in local courts and before the European Court of Human Rights. Additionally, he has gained substantial experience in constitutional cases filed against the state, administrative lawsuits, and compensation claims. Apart from these areas, he also works on Labor Law, Criminal Cases, applications to the Immovable Property Commission, and commercial litigation. Alongside his legal practice in human rights cases, Öncel Polili has published numerous works and provided various training sessions. He is also part of the legal teams of several local and international organizations, such as the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation and the European Human Rights Law Institute. Besides Turkish, Öncel Polili is highly proficient in English.
Deniz Düzgün (born August 19, 1991, in Kyrenia) is a Turkish Cypriot lawyer and human rights advocate. She completed her secondary and high school education at Near East College and went on to earn her Law degree from the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. Practicing law for approximately 11 years, Düzgün has been actively involved in human rights work, participating in various projects in the field. Since 2019, she has been serving as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Foundation.
Can Azer completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees at the Faculty of Law at Eastern Mediterranean University. He then pursued his doctoral studies at Ankara University Faculty of Law and earned his PhD in 2010 in the field of administrative law/administrative judiciary.
Since 2010, he has been working as a lecturer in the Department of Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law at Eastern Mediterranean University. During this time, he has also worked within the university as well as in various institutions such as the Prime Ministry, the Ministry of Interior, and the House of Representatives. He currently serves as a member of the Prime Ministry Information Access Evaluation Board. He has provided training in various public and private institutions (such as the Ombudsman’s Office) and has authored expert reports. At the Faculty of Law, he acts as the advisor to the Children’s Rights Club. Additionally, he is actively involved in an association established to support individuals facing citizenship issues and serious violations of children’s rights in Cyprus.
Can Azer also participates as a trainer in workshops on Gender Equality and as a speaker at conferences. He has published various academic works on administrative law/administrative judiciary and fundamental rights and freedoms.
Görkem Göktuna was born in Cyprus in 1990. He graduated from Bülent Ecevit Anatolian High School in 2008 and from the Faculty of Law at Eastern Mediterranean University in 2013. He then pursued his master’s degree in Public Law at Eastern Mediterranean University and graduated in 2015. In 2016, he began his doctoral studies in Public Law at Near East University and was awarded his PhD in 2021 after defending his dissertation titled “The Right to Internet Access as a Human Right: An Examination within the Scope of Turkish Law.”
In 2023, he was appointed as an assistant professor at Near East University. Since 2021, he has been serving as a faculty member in the Department of General Public Law at the Faculty of Law at Near East University.
Anıl Işık was born in Lefkoşa in 1977. After graduating from a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), she completed a master’s degree in the same field. She began his professional career as a reporter at Kıbrıs Gazetesi, Kıbrıs Media Group in Lefkoşa. In addition to reporting, she later took on the role of night editor.
After an eight-year break, she did a master master’s degree in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Sussex. Her master’s thesis focused on human trafficking.
Upon returning to Cyprus, she joined Cyprus Today, English-language weekly newspaper of Kıbrıs Media Group, as an Assistant News Editor and reporter. She later became the News Editor, a role she held until November 2019. Since December 2020, she has been working as a reporter for the Turkish News Agency Cyprus (Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs).
As a journalist, she has a special interest in covering human rights issues. Believing in the importance of civil society organizations in human rights advocacy, she has also been a founding member of several NGOs.
In 2024, she became a member of Board of Turstees of the Cyprus Turkish Human Rights Foundation.
Gündüz completed her undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Law at Eastern Mediterranean University in 2005. She then obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law from the University of Birmingham in 2007. She pursued her doctoral studies in Public Law – Criminal Law at Ankara University and graduated in 2016. Gündüz continues her academic career as a faculty member at the Faculty of Law at Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), specializing in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure Law. She is known as an academic with a strong commitment to research and social issues.
Dr. Çağrı Cemaller is a thoracic surgery specialist practicing in Northern Cyprus. He received his medical degree from Ankara University Faculty of Medicine in 2009 and completed his residency in thoracic surgery at Istanbul Yedikule Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital between 2013 and 2017. Since 2018, Dr. Cemaller has been serving as a thoracic surgery specialist at Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital. Additionally, he has held positions as a board member and Head of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the Cyprus Turkish Medical Association (KTTB), where he has been involved in public health awareness initiatives.
