Eren Erdem was born in Fatih, İstanbul on 14 August 1986 to Hasan Erdem and his wife Hüsniye. He completed his primary and secondary education in İstanbul. During his youth, he worked as an auxiliary staff to make extra money. He wrote eight books:
Erdem was elected as a Republican People's Party Member of Parliament for Istanbul in the June 2015 general election. He was re-elected in November 2015. He is married with one child and can speak English at a fluent level. Erdem leaked a number of documents from Turkish government surveillance of ISIL-members. The documents are said to show detailed information about activities and locations of ISIL-members, but also a lack of action on part of the Turkish government. Erdem has alleged a cover-up by the Turkish government, which is implicated in having poor control of the Turkish-Syrian border. Erdem also claims that sarin-gas was transported through Turkey to Syria, later used in the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013, as well as later ISIL-attacks against civilians. Erdem showed before the parliament a case where investigations leading to the arrest of 13 potential Turkish ISIL-members were made, but later inexplicably dropped. The leaks are also said to implicate that Erdogan's immediate family in his son-in-law made financial gain through oil-deals with ISIL-members. The material was released through an interview with the English-language Russian news-service Russia Today, and has been said to promote Russian anti-AK Party and anti-Erdogan sentiment. Erdem faces treason charges in Turkey for his leaks. A trial was also directed to two journalists who reported on the story, but it has since been dropped. The prosecution has been seen as a leg in President Erdogan's crackdown on dissent.
2018: new arrest
In June, 2018, he was arrested again, charged with issues which "relate to his position as chief editor of the opposition daily Karşı and his role as a parliamentary deputy for the main opposition the Republican People’s Party between 2015 and 2018." A court in Istanbul freed him on January 7, 2019, but he was immediately rearrested. In February 2019, it was reported that Erdem was on hunger strike. On October 31, the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's office ordered that Erdem be released.
