‘HER CRIME? SONG’
John Cusack, Mark Ruffalo express support for jailed Kurdish singer Nudem Durak
Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish
Mark Ruffalo and John Cusack have supported the campaign launched for the release of Kurdish musician Nudem Durak, who has been arrested in Turkey since 2015 for singing in Kurdish.
Saying that Durak has been kept in prison because she sang songs in Kurdish, Ruffalo wrote, "This beautiful, kindly, gifted human being is being kept in a Turkish prison. Her Crime? Song. She sings the folk songs of her Kurdish people. Please Help and RT. #Free Nudem Durak"
This beautiful, kindly, gifted human being is being kept in a Turkish prison. Her Crime? Song. She sings the folk songs of her Kurdish people. Please Help and RT. #FreeNudemDurak https://t.co/hpvPCehi6d
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) March 17, 2022
John Cusack has also tweeted, "Kurdish singer Nûdem Durak, born in 1988, has been sentenced to 19 years in jail in Turkey. She has been in prison for 6 years already. Her crime singing about justice".
Kurdish singer Nûdem Durak, born in 1988, has been sentenced to 19 years in jail in Turkey. She has been in prison for 6 years already. Her crime singing about justice
— John Cusack (@johncusack) March 17, 2022
Meet The Kurdish Woman Imprisoned For Singing In Turkey | AJ+ Docs https://t.co/yksxKLBFbP via @YouTube
Several prominent figures such as Roger Waters, Angela Davis, Noam Chomsky, Ken Loach, David Graeber and Peter Gabriel also made calls for 'justice' for jailed Kurdish musician Nudem Durak.
#FreeNudemDurak #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners pic.twitter.com/I6GmLBWw2C
— Free Nûdem Durak • Nudem İçin Adalet (@NudemDurak) June 3, 2021
What happened?
Nudem Durak, a Kurdish musician from Turkey's southeastern Şırnak province, was imprisoned several times for singing in Kurdish.
Sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison in two separate cases against her, Durak has been in prison for the past seven years.
She got grave's disease and bone thinning in prison, according to a news report by Mezopotamya Agency (MA). She is especially worried about grave's disease, which could harm her vocal cords.
Every month, she is taken from the Bayburt Type M Prison to a hospital in Erzurum province for treatment and after her return, she is kept in a quarantine cell for 15 days due to the COVID-19 measures.
Speaking about her condition, Nudem Durak's mother, Hatice Durak, said, "She did nothing other than singing. She was arrested for singing in Kurdish ... I haven't seen my daughter for two years. People from my family went to visit her but were not allowed to do so." (RT/SD)