Probe launched into nine inmates, including politicians, for singing Kurdish songs

A disciplinary investigation was launched into nine inmates, including politicians, for singing Kurdish songs in the Elazığ Prison.

Tuesday August 24 2021 03:33 pm

Duvar English

A probe was launched into nine inmates, including politicians, for singing Kurdish songs in Elazığ Prison in eastern Turkey, Jinnews reported.

Democratic Society Congress (DTK) co-chair Leyla Güven, Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakır provincial co-chair Hülya Alökmen Uyanık and Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP) deputy head Fethiye Ok Çiçek are among those who will undergo disciplinary investigation.

According to the official report prepared by prison authorities on Aug. 16, the inmates sang songs and marches in an "unknown language."

Authorities also claimed that the inmates chanted slogans that supported Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan and were warned not to do so.

The inmates were told to provide their defense statements within three days, the report shared with the media by Güven through her lawyer showed.

Güven, who was a deputy from the HDP, underwent numerous investigations, with one being for referring to Öcalan as "Mr. Öcalan."

She lost her parliamentary status in June last year after a conviction was finalized in a separate trial that ruled she was a PKK member and was subsequently arrested.

Topics Kurdish issue in Turkey Elazığ Leyla Güven PKK Democratic Society Congress