Turkey court orders release of hunger striking Kurdish MP

Guven, a pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker, launched a hunger strike on Nov. 8 in the Diyarbakir prison where she is being held. (AFP)
  • Leyla Guven will be monitored during her release on orders of the court in Diyarbakir
  • Guven launched a hunger strike on Nov. 8 in protest at the prison conditions for Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: A Turkish court on Friday ordered the supervised release of a detained lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) who is seriously ill as a result of her 11-week hunger strike.
Leyla Guven, 55, who launched a hunger strike on November 8 in protest at the prison conditions for Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, will be monitored during her release on orders of the court in Diyarbakir in the Kurdish majority southeast.