Kurdish activist Kadri Saka has been on hunger strike since his detention one month ago. On January 13, he was taken into custody at his home in Bremen, while the Kurdish association Biratî was also searched at the same time. On the same day, after the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court issued an arrest warrant, Saka was taken to Hamburg-Holstenglacis prison, where he began an indefinite hunger strike.

According to the legal aid fund AZADÎ e.V., the 58-year-old father of 8 children is still on hunger strike.

Arrested due to democratic activities

The Hamburg public prosecutor's office accuses Kadri Saka of working as a PKK member in Bremen and the surrounding area from late 2018 until July 2021 and of supporting the person responsible for the region at the time.

The charges against the Kurdish activist relate to democratic activities. Organizing demonstrations and events, selling magazines and tickets are among the charges.

The German judiciary classifies the democratic organization of the Kurdish community as membership or support of a terrorist organization abroad, according to Section 129 A/B of the German Penal Code.

The Kurdish activist’s lawyer requested that the arrest warrant be lifted or suspended in exchange for collateral. However, the High Regional Court ruled for his continued detention.

Azadi e.V. says the following about Kadri Saka's arrest: "The individual warrant issued by the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJV) to prosecute Kadri S. is dated September 27, 2021. The High Regional Court implies that the BMJV assumed that he would not be prosecuted under § 129a/b of the German Criminal Code because the general authorization of September 6, 2011 only applies to the cadre level of the PKK and he has not delegated his work to this hierarchical level."

11 Kurdish political prisoners in Germany

Kadri Saka was born in 1966 in the village of Hespist in the province of Şirnak and has been living in Germany since 1991 due to political repression by the Turkish state. A well-known activist within the Kurdish community in Bremen, Saka has been arrested several times in the past and his home has been searched many times. Including Kadri Saka, there are currently 11 Kurdish political prisoners in pre-trial or criminal detention in Germany under Penal Code 129a/b.