SAKIK, SEMDIN

(1959- )

Semdin Sakik, also known as Parmaksiz (Fingerless) Zeki because he lost a finger while firing a rocket, was a hard-line commander of theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK) in theDiyarbakir(Amed) area of southeasternTurkey. He is often credited with sabotaging the PKK's unilateral cease-fire called in March 1993 by killing some 33 unarmed Turkish soldiers along the Bingol-Elazig highway in May 1993.

Early in 1998, Sakik formally broke away from the PKK amid accusations from its leaderAbdullah Ocalan. Shortly afterward, Sakik was captured in northernIraqby a Turkish commando unit. He was tried in Turkey and sentenced to death, but for political reasons the sentence was not carried. He remains in prison as of 2010.

Sakik's brother, Sirri Sakik, was a member of the pro-KurdishDemokrasi Parti(DEP) who sat in the Turkish parliament until expelled in 1994. He was sentenced to prison along with several other DEP members of parliament—includingLeyla Zana—for treason.