Prisons, those state institutions of repression, often run by private corporations who, as usual, make profit from people's misery, are harsh and brutal places. However, a prison sentence should not mean a death sentence, but all too often it does. To be locked in a cage is inhumane enough, but to die locked in such conditions is a criminal indictment against the state and its festering apparatus.
The recent death in a Turkish prison, of a musician, must surely shock all those who hear of this tragedy, and voices must be raised in anger.
Istanbul, Turkey: Helin Bölek Dies After 288 Days of Hunger Strike
Posted on 04/04/2020 by anarchistsworldwide
Posted on 04/04/2020 by anarchistsworldwide
After 288 days on hunger strike, comrade Helin Bölek died today, Friday the 3rd of April, 2020.
Helin was a member of the left-wing music group “Grup Yorum” in Turkey. She was not the only hunger striker, other members of the music group are still going. With their hunger strike they demand the release of the imprisoned group members and an end to the criminalization of their group. Today, 1000 people in Istanbul took to the streets and held a memorial service in spite of coronavirus and police repression.
Grup Yorum are banned from performing because they are accused of being members of the banned Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP-C). Grup Yorum makes music for workers and they convey political content. This is a crime in the Turkish state today. The group members protest against this draconian treatment with a hunger strike. For some of them, forced feeding has been ordered by the state, this measure can also end in death.
This cruel inhumanity affects us. The workers’ choir of the IWW Bern (Industrial Workers of the World) calls for as many people as possible to show solidarity with the hunger strikers. Raise you voice – worldwide! It is not too late to fulfill the demands of the group and save them from death.
Freedom for all prisoners!
An attack on one is an attack on all!
www.wobblies.org
www.facebook.com/iwwjam
