Mazlum Dağ and Abdurrahman Er are accused of shooting dead the Turkish vice-consul and intelligence officer Osman Köse and two other people in a luxury restaurant in Hewlêr (Erbil), the capital of the South Kurdistan autonomous region, on 17 July 2019. In February 2020, Dağ and Er were sentenced to death by the 2nd Criminal Court in Hewlêr in a show trial under pressure from Turkey. Immediately following the trial, the two activists were placed in a prison cell next to ISIS jihadists. On 22 September 2020, the death sentences were confirmed by the Court of Cassation.

The two Kurdish prisoners have been constantly subjected to serious rights violations since the day they were imprisoned. The prisoners, who have repeatedly gone on hunger strikes so far in response to oppression and violations, started an indefinite hunger strike on 18 May to protest the ongoing violations, specifically the imposition of uniform dress. The health condition of the two Kurdish prisoners is deteriorating on the 45th day of the hunger strike.

The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) released a statement calling for Mazlum Dağ and Abdurrahman Er to be granted equal rights with other prisoners.

“Should we fail to stand up for two young men and be their voice, we will witness undesired consequences,” warned the KNK, appealing to the Hewler government, parties, organisations, institutions and relevant authorities.

“We consider it a humanitarian duty to defend the rights of the two young men behind bars and believe that their rights should be defended by all the advocates of human rights,” KNK stated.