The Solidarity Against Death Penalty Initiative, founded in Switzerland, made a statement regarding the hunger strike of Mazlum Dağ and Abdurahman Er, who were sentenced to death in South Kurdistan and are in Hewler prison. The two went on hunger strike on 18 May. In the written statement made by the Initiative, a call was made to meet the humanitarian demands of Dağ and Er.

'Their condition is worsening'

The statement said: “The indefinite, irreversible hunger strike launched by Mazlum Dağ and Abdurrahman Er in Hewlêr Prison, which started with demands for an end to the torture/ill-treatment and single cell practice and to abandon the imposition of wearing the prison uniform, has entered its 45th day. It is stated that the health conditions of Er and Dağ have deteriorated. Relatives of the two Kurds, who stated that they were not given the vitamin B1 that should be given to those on hunger strike, that they have lost a lot of weight and that they had difficulty in standing up, said that they could not reach the prison authorities and that their lawyers could not get any results from their applications.

Call for sensitivity

The statement underlined that the most basic human right is to ensure the safety of prisoners in jail and to be treated in a humane way, and added: “We demand the prison and South Kurdish authorities to end the ill-treatment and violations of rights of Er and Dağ. We call on the public to be sensitive about the issue. We demand that the prisoners' requests be accepted and that the hunger strike, which has become life-threatening, ends.”