Mogherini: We Called on Turkey to Take Steps to Ensure Güven's Safety

EU foreign policy head Mogherini has said, "The EU is ready to offer help to return to a peace process," in a response to a Sinn Fein MEP's letter on HDP MP Leyla Güven, who has been on a hunger strike.

İstanbul

Mogherini: We Called on Turkey to Take Steps to Ensure Güven's Safety

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High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini has responded to Sinn Féin Member of the European Parliament Martina Anderson's letter about Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MP and Democratic Society Congress Co-Chair Leyla Güven, who has been on a hunger strike for 117 days.

Leyla Güven has been on a hunger strike with the demand that the isolation on the Kurdistan Workers' Party' (PKK) imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan be lifted.

"EU expects Turkey to release MPs"

Mogherini said the following in her letter:

"Esteemed colleague,

I would like to thank you for your letter about Leyla Guven, who is on a hunger strike due to her concerns about Abdullah Ocalan's conditions in prison.

Considering her deteriorating health, her recent release from prison is a positive step. We will continue to closely monitor the developments and to share our concerns about Leyla Guven and people in a similar situation with Turkish officials as part of our bi- and multi-lateral dialogues. We have done so in the most recent EU statement in the PACE Permanent Council. We called on Turkish authorities to take steps to ensure Leyla Guven's safety.

Turkey is a candidate country to the EU and a founding member of the Council of Europe. The EU expects Turkey to protect its parliamentary democracy by releasing MPs on remand and reinstating parliamentary immunity as per the proposal by the Venice Commission and ECHR ruling.

The EU believes absolutely that a sustainable solution in southeastern Turkey must be based on a reliable political process, and is ready to offer help to return to a peace process."

335 inmates from 67 prisons are on a hunger strike

HDP gave the following information on the hunger strikes in prisons in its statement on March 2:

"Leyla Güven is on the 115th day of her hunger strike. Nasır Yağız, who began a hunger strike on November 21 in Erbil, is on the 102th day.

"First group of the inmates in prisons are on the 77th day of the hunger strike, the hunger strike which began in Strasbourg on December 17 is on the 76th day.

"Sebahat Tuncel and Selma Irmak's hunger strike is on the 46th day.

"As of February 28, the number of the people who have begun a hunger strike on various dates in 67 prisons since December 16, 2018 is 335.

"In the statement that was made from the prisons, it was said that because the government did not take steps regarding the isolation and the hunger strikes, an indefinite and non-rotating hunger strike will begin on March 1, with the participation of thousands of people from all prisons."

(AS/VK)