Leyla Güven and 8 prisoners face penalty for singing in Kurdish

* Photo: Mezopotamya Agency (MA)

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Nine women prisoners held in the Elazığ Women's Closed Prison are facing a penalty as part of an investigation for singing in Kurdish. The women, including dismissed Hakkari MP of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Co-Chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Leyla Güven, will be deprived of their right to communication and visitation for a month.

According to a social media post by Sabiha Temizkan, the daughter of Leyla Güven, some prisoners, including Güven herself, will not be allowed to have a phone call for a month while the other prisoners will not be allowed to receive a visit from their family members for a month:

"I talked to my mother Leyla Güven on the phone. As a result of this investigation, some prisoners, including my mother, have been given a penalty of not communicating by phone for a month and the other prisoners have been given a penalty of not having a family visitation for a month. As 'they sang in an incomprehensible language and did a folk dance'..."

What happened?

Nine women prisoners held in Elazığ Women's Closed Prison in eastern Turkey were investigated for singing Kurdish songs. Dismissed Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Hakkari MP and Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Chair Leyla Güven and HDP Diyarbakır Provincial Co-Chair Hülya Alökmen-Uyanık were reportedly among those under investigation.

Investigation minutes obtained by JinNews said, "They loudly performed verbal halay [a folk dance] in an incomprehensible language" and "They sang anthems in an incomprehensible language."

The nine prisoners were requested to present a defense regarding the events on August 15. The prisoners under investigation were Hülya Alökmen-Uyanık, Beritan Anahtar, Emine Erkan, Nuray Çelik, Dicle Bozan, Fethiye Ok-Çiçek, Leyla Güven, Mihriban Şorli, Remziye Yaşar. (TP/SD)