Deniz, a columnist for the daily newspaper Ozgur Gundem, was attacked while on his way to the office in Ceylanpinar, Urfa Province. Two people approached him, one from the left and one from the right; a third person, the gunman, came from behind and shot one bullet into his neck. Colleagues from his paper say that Deniz, was killed because of the last article he wrote, which detailed the collaboration between the mainstream press and the state. In addition to writing for Ozgur Gundem, Deniz authored a book on Kurdish proverbs, contributed to the daily Cumhuriyet, the weekly magazine Ikibin’e Dogru, and the Kurdish weekly paper Welat.[1]
Deniz, who was detained during the 12 September 1980 military coup, was held in Diyarbakır Prison for 3 years. Deniz's books Gotinên Pêşiyên Kurdan, a collection of Kurdish proverbs, and Ji Nav Ajalan, a children's story book, were published in 1991.[2]