Roger Waters, rock music legend, bassist and co-founder of the band Pink Floyd, repeated a call on Turkish authorities to free jailed Kurdish musician Nûdem Durak on Friday, sharing a song by Durak to his Twitter account after she called for solidarity.
Durak sang the song “Çiyayên me” (Our mountains) in her weekly phone call with her family, calling for solidarity from the art world.
Artists should take care of each other, or at least try to lend a hand to those behind bars so they can continue to express themselves, she said.
Durak was diagnosed with Graves’ disease while in prison. The hyperthyroid condition affects the throat and vocal cords, risking the singer’s voice. However, if Durak is released, she could seek treatment.
Waters had previously called for Durak’s freedom and sent his black Martin acoustic guitar to her, to raise awareness for her case.
Many other rights advocates including Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Ken Loach, David Graeber and Peter Gabriel had also called for Durak’s release.