List of Famous people who died in 2017

Bassel al-Araj was a Palestinian activist, writer and author. Known for his writings about revolution and Arab nationalism, al-Araj was killed on 6 March 2017 by an occupation unit belonging to Israel’s Yamam police force, after a gunfight lasting nearly two hours broke out as they attempted to raid his home. He is known as "the educated martyr" among some Palestinian activists.

Viktor Grigoryevich Tsaryov was a Russian footballer.

Ahmet Refik Erduran was a Turkish playwright, columnist and writer. He wrote thirty plays and eight books, and was a columnist for twenty years; he was named "The Most Successful Playwright" by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and "The Most Successful Columnist" by the Turkish Journalists' Association. He was married four times and had four children. Erduran served as a military interpreter during the Korean War.

Maxlei dos Santos Luzia or simply Max, was a Brazilian goalkeeper.

Sotirios "Sam" Panopoulos was a Greek-born Canadian cook and businessman, credited as the inventor of Hawaiian pizza.

Peter Henry Abrahams Deras, commonly known as Peter Abrahams, was a South African-born novelist, journalist and political commentator who in 1956 settled in Jamaica, where he lived for the rest of his life. His death at the age of 97 is considered to have been murder.

François Fortassin was a French politician and a member of the Senate of France. He represented the Hautes-Pyrénées department and was a secretary of the Senate and a member of the Radical Party of the Left.

Željko Perušić was a Croatian footballer.

Roberto Oscar Ferreiro was an Argentine professional football player and manager.

Wilson das Neves was a Brazilian percussionist and singer from in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a key figure in the history of Brazilian music, having played with many of Brazil's greatest musicians across many decades and featured on numerous important recordings. Wilson was a very important artist specially for Brazilian popular music as a sambista, composer and instrumentalist, with over 50 years dedicated to music. He can be heard in over 600 records from major Brazilian artists.