Two Kurdish prisoners in Erbil Prison in Iraqi Kurdistan who have been convicted of killing a Turkish diplomat and an alleged member of Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency, and sentenced to death, have been engaged in a hunger strike for over a month.
Mazlum Dağ and Abdurrahman Er began their hunger strike on 18 May, in protest at various human rights violations they said they had experienced as well as the imposition of prison uniforms. Their protest has now passed its 33rd day.
Dağ and Er have been on hunger strike before, starting on 13 February 2022, in protest at rights violations they had suffered. However, they ended that strike on the 9th day after receiving assurances from the prison administration that their conditions would be improved.
The pair initiated another hunger strike on 28 September 2022, similarly denouncing torture and human rights violations within the prison. They terminated the strike on the 14th day after their demands were met.
Dağ and Er were arrested following an attack on the Turkish Consulate General in Erbil (Hewlêr) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on 17 July 2019. The attack resulted in the death of Turkish diplomat Osman Köse, as well as Iraqi nationals Neriman Osman and Bashdar Ramadan. The court of first instance sentenced Dağ and Er to death.
According to the laws of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the execution can only proceed after approval from Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
