Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party, has thanked imprisoned Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş for his support.
Corbyn said on social media platform X that Demirtaş, detained in Turkey since 2015, sent him a letter of encouragement. The former Labour leader posted both Turkish and English versions of the letter from Demirtaş, expressing gratitude to Demirtaş for writing from prison.
In his letter, Demirtaş wished Corbyn success and said that he believed Corbyn would garner support from his friends in the United Kingdom.
Following an investigation that threatened to close the pro-Kurdish HDP, Corbyn, alongside numerous European socialist MPs, signed a petition against the party’s closure.
The British MP has been actively involved in efforts to address the Kurdish issue in Turkey. He has called for the release of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who is incarcerated on the Turkish prison island of İmralı, and has criticised Öcalan’s isolation.
Corbyn, who is currently MP for Islington North, resigned as Labour Party leader in 2020 after a defeat in the 2019 general election. He was suspended from the party amid an investigation into alleged anti-Semitism for his support for the Palestinian cause. Corbyn announced his intention to run as an independent candidate for Islington North when the executive committee of the party rejected his return. Corbyn was subsequently expelled from the Labour Party.
According to Al Jazeera, the anti-Semitism allegations that led to Corbyn’s expulsion were driven by factions within the party that opposed the left-wing MP.
Corbyn, who was once a member of the Socialist Campaign Group within the Labour Party, was known as one of the party’s most prominent left-wing MPs.
