British trade union leaders and actress Maxine Peake have written to the Turkish government demanding an immediate end to the “inhumane” isolation of jailed Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Among signatories are Transport union TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes and Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burker.

The letter marks the 20th anniversary of Mr Öcalan’s arrest and the hunger strike carried out by hundreds of Kurdish activists around Europe as well as in Kurdistan, and Kurdish and Turkish jails. The action, demanding the end of isolation, is led by HDP Hakkari MP Leyla Güven.

The letter warns that the hunger strikers “face certain death in the coming days and weeks” if Turkey does not improve its treatment of Mr Öcalan.

Maxine Peake is a member of the International Peace Delegation that went to Turkey last week in the attempt to get permission to visit Mr Öcalan in Imrali and met with Leyla Güven, the HDP, Peace Mothers, Saturday Mothers, Öcalan’s lawyers among others.