He began work as a tailor at a shop owned by a prominent Kurdist intellectual, Niyazi Tatlıcı.
[5] In the Eastern Meetings (Doğu mitingleri) he attempted to organize a Kurdish theater tour through four villages in Diyarbakir but didn't succeed.
[4] In 1963 he became a member of Workers Party of Turkey (TİP) of which two years later he became the head of the Silvan branch.
[4] While in Silvan, he supported the establishment of a theater company with the aim to draw interest on socialism and the Kurdishness.
[5] He also undertook journeys towards Syria and Iran, during which he attempted to extend his Kurdish political network.
[2][3] After his release in 1995, he went to receive the Sakharov Prize in 1996 on behalf of his imprisoned wife, Leyla Zana.