Turkish Cypriot investigative journalist, author and peace activist Sevgül Uludağ has died. For decades, she dedicated her work to uncovering the fate of Cyprus’ missing persons and promoting reconciliation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
According to the Great Cyprus Encyclopedia, Uludag was born on October 15, 1958 in Nicosia. She began her journalism career in 1980, having previously worked as a bank secretary and a newspaper proofreader. She worked for many years at the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yenidüzen and was also a long-time columnist for Politis, through which she highlighted issues relating to missing persons, historical memory, reconciliation and dialogue between the two communities.
Read all her columnts in Politis, where she wrote the column UNDERGROUND NOTES
Dedicated her life to missing persons
From 2002 she devoted herself almost entirely to investigating missing persons and mass graves in Cyprus. Through her reporting, she brought to light testimonies and evidence that often led to official investigations and exhumations by the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP), helping to locate mass graves and return remains to dozens of families.
Her work opened up public debate on an issue that had long been taboo, highlighting that both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were victims, but also perpetrators, of intercommunal violence.
Faced threats for her work
Her investigative work came at significant personal cost. She was the target of smear campaigns, death threats and intimidation, while her phone was tapped and her correspondence intercepted. In 2006, she avoided an attack by a group of Greek Cypriot nationalists at the Nicosia checkpoint, and at times she received threats over her revelations about mass graves.
Author and peace activist
Alongside journalism, she was active as a writer and peace activist. Among her most important works are the books The Oysters That Lost Their Pearls and The Orphans of Nationalism, which shed light on aspects of Cyprus’ modern history and the missing persons issue.
In 2001 she co-founded the bicommunal organisation Hands Across the Divide, aiming to promote peace, reconciliation and gender equality, and she actively participated in initiatives and training related to peace and coexistence.
Nobel Peace Prize nomination and international recognition
Her work was internationally recognised. In 2008 she became the first Cypriot journalist to receive the international Courage in Journalism award, while in 2014 she was awarded the European Citizen’s Prize.
In 2019 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, with Yenidüzen and Politis jointly welcoming her nomination, describing her as a journalist who dedicated her life to uncovering the fate of the missing and building mutual understanding between the two communities.
In the same year, she was honoured alongside journalist Andreas Paraschos for their pioneering work on missing persons.
