Medya News
Daily Review
Breaking News
Subscribe
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily Review
Youtube
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily Review
Youtube
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Medya News

Zeynep Çelik, mother of a hunger striking prisoner in Turkey, speaks out

12:37 pm 12/02/2021
A A
Zeynep Çelik, mother of a hunger striking prisoner in Turkey, speaks out
Share post

The hunger strike continues into its 78th day in more than 150 prisons in Turkey. Mothers of the hunger striking prisoners have been leading the call for justice outside the prisons, and have been calling for the hunger strikers’ demands to be met.

Political prisoners in Turkey launched a hunger strike on 27 November 2020 to protest against the prison isolation conditions of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in a high security prison in Turkey since 1999. The demands of the hunger strikers are that the isolation conditions of Abdullah Öcalan must be be lifted and the violation of rights of prisoners in Turkey must be ended.

Zeynep Çelik, whose son has been imprisoned in Kayseri Prison since 2010, spoke to Jin News and shared her concerns about her son’s health and the situation of political prisoners in Turkey’s prisons.

‘The crime of my son was to join a peace meeting’

Zeynep Çelik shed light on how easily political activists have been sent to prison in Turkey. “The crime of my son was to join the Peace Meeting that was held in Diyarbakır (Amed)”, she said. Her son is one of more than 250 political prisoners who started an indefinite hunger strike in solidarity with Leyla Güven in 2019, when she went on a hunger strike demanding an end to the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan.

“Through the years, prisoners have been demanding freedom of our leader, Abdullah Öcalan. We want peace. We do not see any difference between Turkish, Kurdish, Arab or Persian people. We respect all peoples, so they should respect us too”, she said.

‘The pressure on Kurds has continued all these years up to the present’

Zeynep Çelik’s family had to migrate from Muş – their home town in the eastern Turkey – to the western province of Muğla almost half a century ago. Their migration story is similar to many of the stories of Kurdish families, who had to move towards the western side of Turkey to escape from the grinding poverty they experienced in the Kurdish majority populated eastern province. “The pressure on Kurds has continued all these years up to the present. They want us to forget about our identity, our culture and our language, but we continue to speak in Kurdish despite all that pressure”, she said.

The hunger strikers ‘resist injustice and rights violations’

“The prisoners resist injustice and rights violations: their demands are legitimate”, she said. “The ones who rule us should put themselves in our shoes. How would they feel if their children were in a similar situation?” Zeynep Çelik shared her concerns regarding the well-being of her son and other prisoners: “Our children say that they are okay on the phone, but we are never sure about it”, she said. “They want to be treated in a humane manner, so do we”.

According to Zeynep Çelik, Abdullah Öcalan represents the leadership of the collective will of the Kurdish people: “He is the leader of the Kurdish people. They should accept that”, she said. “No lawyers can visit him, no family members can visit him. This has to change”.

 


Share post
Tags: Manset2

Related Posts

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi: Occupation of Afrin Turkish colonisation project

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi: Occupation of Afrin Turkish colonisation project

March 19, 2023
Kurdish votes likely to tip balance in Turkey’s elections: Int’l media

Kurdish votes likely to tip balance in Turkey’s elections: Int’l media

March 19, 2023
Flames of first Newroz fire rise in Berlin in spirit of mourning

Flames of first Newroz fire rise in Berlin in spirit of mourning

March 13, 2023
A hundred years of Republic, and mother language

A hundred years of Republic, and mother language

February 23, 2023
KNK calls for struggle against extinction of Kurdish language

KNK calls for struggle against extinction of Kurdish language

February 21, 2023
Story of Hatay’s mayor ‘introduction to Turkish politics’

Story of Hatay’s mayor ‘introduction to Turkish politics’

February 23, 2023

Videos

HDP urges unity amongst democratic forces ahead of election season
POLITICS

HDP urges unity amongst democratic forces ahead of election season

March 23, 2023

All News

HDP’s Buldan: “Our people know which candidate is the most democratic”

Turkey excluded from Biden’s democracy summit for second year in row

HDP urges unity amongst democratic forces ahead of election season

Ferit Şenyaşar applies to continue search for justice in parliament as HDP MP

Medya News Daily Review: 23 March 2023

Guerrilla forces should not violate no-action period: HSM

Medya News

Impressum

About us

Privacy Policy

Subscribe
Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • World
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Culture & Art
  • Daily Review
  • Breaking News
  • Newsletter
  • Authors
  • Podcast

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Add New Playlist

Loading
Contact