Mehmed Emîn Bozarslan, a Turkish–Swedish Kurdish writer and translator, died on February 10, 2026.
Born in Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey on 15 September 1934, he moved to Sweden as a political asylum seeker in 1978 and lived in Uppsala until his death. Among his early works was Alfabê, published in Turkey in 1968 as the first ABC-book for Kurdish learning.
The books were impounded immediately by a Turkish court, and Bozarslan was later arrested and jailed under separatism charges. He was released, then jailed again during the military regime from spring 1971 to summer 1974.
Mehmed Emîn Bozarslan (15 September 1934 – 22 January 2026) was a Turkish-Swedish Kurdish writer and translator. Born in Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey, he moved to Sweden as political asylum seeker in 1978, and he lived in Uppsala until his death. The most famous of his early works was Alfabê which was the first ABC-book for Kurdish learning that was published in Turkey in 1968. The books were impounded immediately by a Turkish court. Emin was arrested and jailed under separatism charges. He was released after a while but jailed again on another occasion under the military regime from spring 1971 to summer of 1974. He moved to Sweden as a political asylum seeker in 1978.