The Association for Solidarity with the Families of Detainees and Convicts (TAYAD) made a statement about Gökhan Yıldırım, who has been on death fast for 256 days in Tekirdağ No. 1 F Type Closed Prison, demanding a "fair trial", in a house in the Güzeltepe District of Eyüp.

Gökhan Yıldırım, a lawyer with the Peoples' Law Office (HHB) attended the press statement.

The police carried out a General Information Scan (GBT) at the entrance of the house, checking the people who participated in the statement.

Gökhan Yıldırım said that the only thing to be done against injustice and lawlessness is to "resist". He said that he decided to go on hunger strike after trying all kinds of ways to fight for a just trial and added: "our body is our evidence."

Yıldırım said: "I have been on a hunger strike for 256 days and I continue to resist. We shouted our demands out loud for 256 days. We cried from the inside, our comrades and families supported us from the outside. At that time, there were many detentions and attacks.”

He added: "They did what they always do and said that I was eating. They said that I was taking 800 grams of calories. We have not forgotten this, we will never forget it. Because this is an attack. But we continued to resist with our heads held high, with our dignity, our minds and our ideas.”

“We want a fair trial, not to die”

Stating that he could die at any time, Yıldırım reminded that those who are on death fast do not want to die, they want a "fair trial".

Yıldırım said: “Let's have a fair trial, let's not die. Mustafa, Ibo, Helin, Ebru are all martyrs. All of them were martyrs in this resistance. Currently, Sibel and Ileri continue their protest. Today, I am calling off my death fast on the 256th day. The reason I call it off is because we've achieved most of my demands. Because, we always said, dying is the easiest thing. If we die, we die, but we want to live. And we will implement our demands by living.”

'We can’t win anything without resisting'

Stating that he would never give up the struggle, Yıldırım said that he would be the voice of his friends who are still on death fast and added: “I am outside today thanks to this resistance. I call on all our people: If you want to win, if you want to get something, resistance is the way. We can't gain anything without resistance."

Naime Kara, who read the press release on behalf of the families from TAYAD, underlined that the death fasters resisted demanding a fair trial.

Stating that the right to a fair trial has turned into a national issue, Kara said: “This situation has become a struggle for rights. We call on all our people to unite around the struggle for the right to a fair trial led by Gökhan, Sibel and Ileri. We had Gökhan Yıldırım released after a 256-day-long struggle. As of 5 September, this struggle has been moved outside. Now it is on our shoulders to support Gökhan's resistance.”

Stating that the struggle for justice started with Mustafa Koçak in 2019-2020 for the right to a fair trial, Kara said: “Resisting for justice has become the tradition of the children of the revolutionaries. We are the ones who will defend this tradition and protect our rights at the cost of our lives."