Mazlum Dağ and Abdurrahman Er, who were arrested and sentenced to death by the KDP for allegedly killing an MIT member, have been subjected to serious violations of their rights since the day they were imprisoned.

The prisoners, who went on hunger strike many times to protest the violations they had been subjected to, went on hunger strike on 18 May to reject the imposition of the prison uniform. While the prisoners are kept in solitary cells, there are reports that their health conditions are getting worse.

The KCK Foreign Relations Committee said in a written statement that the two Kurds have been kept in prison for five years and added: “The government in South Kurdistan, sentenced these two Kurdish youths to death in order to fulfil the demands of the occupying Turkish state. The only crime of these young people is that they punish a gang leader of the Turkish terror network in South Kurdistan. Handing out the death penalty to two Kurdish youths is far from Kurdishness, patriotism and humanity.”

The KCK continued: “South Kurdistan is full of security cameras recording all activity. MIT agents slaughter the revolutionaries in the streets and in their workplaces during the day, yet the security forces do not catch them and they easily escape. This shows that the KDP sees the shedding of Kurdish blood by the MIT as permissible. On the other hand, two patriotic Kurdish youths can even be sentenced to death. If death sentences are to be given, they should be given to former Baathists, ISIS members and undersecretaries who have a finger in the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent Kurds. However, far from being punished, they are protected by the KDP. The most valuable places and lands in South Kurdistan are allocated to them. They build their own projects; they mock the historical memory of the people every day.”

Drawing attention to the torture and ill-treatment of Dağ and Er, the KCK stated: “Not content with the death penalty, both Kurds are placed under harsh surveillance and subjected to physical and psychological torture and oppression. All these torture are  practices imposed by the Turkish state against Kurdish prisoners. This is a way of breaking their will, humiliating, killing and persecuting them. The highest level of this policy was implemented on Kurds and freedom fighters in Diyarbakır Prison in the 1980s. Mazlum Doğan, Kemal Pir and Sakine Cansız in Diyarbakır Prison showed great resistance against this policy. From the Xelan prison to the Akre and Hewler prisons, the KDP applies this mentality and policy against patriots and revolutionaries. From the torture and murder of Said Elçi to Süleyman Muini and hundreds of others, there are examples of how the KDP did whatever the invaders wanted.”

The KCK committee continued: “Today, Mazlum Dağ and Abdurahman Er are tortured and oppressed. Dağ and Er are on hunger strike for the third time to protest this repression. The previous two times, the KDP promised to fulfil their demands and the protest ended. Unfortunately, the KDP did not keep its promises and did not fulfil the demands. On the contrary, it increased the pressure. For this reason, the new hunger strike has been carried out for 44 days. With each passing day, the health conditions of the two men deteriorated. Despite all the calls from families and organizations, the KDP persists in its policy of oppression and torture, which seriously threatens their lives.

We hereby announce that the KDP is responsible for the life and health of Mazlum Dağ and Abdurahman Er. This policy of oppression and the requests by the invading Turkish state regarding these two young people must be ended as soon as possible before things get worse. We call on all human rights institutions, intellectuals, political figures, patriots, all political and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Kurdistan to take action against the policies and practices carried out by the KDP.”