Kurdish MP on hunger strike in Turkish prison is critically ill: Lawyer
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey – A jailed Kurdish lawmaker who has been on a hunger strike for 57 days was too ill to meet with her legal team during their last trip to the prison, the head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association said on Thursday.
On December 30 Leyla Guven, co-chair of the Democratic Society Party who was arrested on January 31, 2018, was unable to meet with her lawyers because of “worsening health,” said Cihan Aydin.
Lawyers who were visiting others in prison said that she was suffering from “weight loss, sensitivity to noise and light, headaches and dizziness, fatigue, hypertension, and stomach cramps,” he told reporters, describing her situation as “critical.”
Guven was arrested after she opposed Turkey’s military offensive against the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin.
Despite being behind bars during the election, she won a seat in the parliament in the June 24 vote. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) argued she should be released as she now benefits from parliamentary immunity, citing the release of a CHP lawmaker who was in a similar situation.
Authorities, however, have refused to release Guven.
She began a hunger strike 57 days ago, demanding respect for the rights of all prisoners, including leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. She has demanded an end to his isolation on the island prison of Imrali.
Other prisoners have joined Guven in her hunger strike.
The Diyarbakir Bar Association’s Aydin said that the some of the hunger strikers have not been given sufficient water, sugar, salt, and vitamin supplements.
He urged the Ministry of Justice and relevant authorities to end its “discriminatory practice in order to avoid endangering the lives of all prisoners who have gone on hunger strike, Ms. Guven in particular.”
The prosecutor has demanded more than 31 years in jail for Guven on charges of “establishing and managing an armed terrorist organization” and terror propaganda, based on alleged ties with the PKK.
On December 30 Leyla Guven, co-chair of the Democratic Society Party who was arrested on January 31, 2018, was unable to meet with her lawyers because of “worsening health,” said Cihan Aydin.
Lawyers who were visiting others in prison said that she was suffering from “weight loss, sensitivity to noise and light, headaches and dizziness, fatigue, hypertension, and stomach cramps,” he told reporters, describing her situation as “critical.”
Guven was arrested after she opposed Turkey’s military offensive against the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin.
Despite being behind bars during the election, she won a seat in the parliament in the June 24 vote. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) argued she should be released as she now benefits from parliamentary immunity, citing the release of a CHP lawmaker who was in a similar situation.
Authorities, however, have refused to release Guven.
She began a hunger strike 57 days ago, demanding respect for the rights of all prisoners, including leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan. She has demanded an end to his isolation on the island prison of Imrali.
Other prisoners have joined Guven in her hunger strike.
The Diyarbakir Bar Association’s Aydin said that the some of the hunger strikers have not been given sufficient water, sugar, salt, and vitamin supplements.
He urged the Ministry of Justice and relevant authorities to end its “discriminatory practice in order to avoid endangering the lives of all prisoners who have gone on hunger strike, Ms. Guven in particular.”
The prosecutor has demanded more than 31 years in jail for Guven on charges of “establishing and managing an armed terrorist organization” and terror propaganda, based on alleged ties with the PKK.