Teacher Sibel Balaç released from prison on 298th day of hunger strike

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A court has postponed the enforcement of teacher Sibel Balaç's prison sentence after 298 days of death fast demanding a fair trial.

Following the decision yesterday (October 12), the People's Law Bureau said Balaç will be released from the prisoner's ward of the Etlik City Hospital in the capital of Ankara.

She was released later in the day. However, after doctors stated the opinion that her condition did not allow her to move, Balaç was taken under treatment in another department of the hospital.

The Yüksel Street protests

Balaç, 33, from Tekirdağ, northwestern Türkiye, is a teacher of the mentally handicapped. While working in the southern city of Antalya, she began to attend the "I Want My Job Back" in Ankara's Yüksel Street. The protests were held by civil servants dismissed during the state of emergency period following the 2016 coup attempt protests.

Following the arrest of the protesters, she resigned from her school and began to attend the protests full-time.

She was arrested in December 2018 and was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison.

Gökhan Yıldırım, who also started a hunger strike six days after Balaç at the Tekirdağ No. 1 Type-F Prison, ended his strike after a court postponed the execution of his sentence.

İleri Kızılaltun, who joined the hunger strike on August 15, still continues his strike. (AS/VK)