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Court releases Kurdish deputy on hunger strike from prison

Kurdish deputy Leyla Güven

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Leyla Güven, who has been on a hunger strike for 79 days, was released from jail on Friday by a court in Diyarbakır.

Güven will be subject to monitoring by the court, BBC reported, adding that very little information has been released to the public.

The jailed deputy’s daughter broke the news on Twitter about Güven, who was transported from prison to her home in an ambulance due to her ongoing protest.

Güven has been on a hunger strike demanding the removal of a prohibition on outside visits to Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

When asked about her protest, the deputy from Hakkari province said her demand for the PKK leader’s access to his lawyers has not yet been met and vowed to continue her hunger strike.

Güven was arrested on Jan. 31, 2018 and faces a prison sentence of between 17.5 and 31.5 years on charges of establishing and leading a terrorist organization, disseminating the propaganda of a terrorist organization and provoking the public to take part in illegal demonstrations.

Following Güven’s election to parliament in the general election of June 24, her lawyers petitioned the court for Güven’s release on the grounds that she had acquired parliamentary immunity with her election.

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