In Turkey, thousands of prisoners have been released from detention centers due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, political prisoners like Gülser Yildirim are not among those who will be freed.

Gülser Yildirim, HDP MP for Mardin, was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison for allegedly "being a member of an illegal organization". Gülser Yildirim was one of twelve MPs arrested on 4 November 2016, including the two HDP co-chairs; Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ.

After the attempted coup in 2016, the elected mayors in many of the municipal administrations run by HDP were replaced by state-appointed trustees.

Gülser Yildirim was born in Nusaybin / Mardin in 1963 and has four children. Her husband works as a dentist in Mardin.

An open letter signed by IGFM board member Vasilis Pavegos for the Turkey Working Committee, said: "The Kurdish-born politician of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is a democratically legitimate MP in Mardin and was elected both in 2011 and 2015. She has not committed any criminal activity and has only exercised her human right to freedom of expression. Gülser Yildirim and her family should be brought together!"

IGFM, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, is an NGO active since 1972. The organization, which has around 35,000 members worldwide, has an organized network in 26 countries.