Support grows for the Shengal Diaspora Assembly administrators who entered the 13th day of their hunger strike and demand immediate communication with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan. An Ezidi media worker from Çira TV joined the indefinite-irreversible hunger strike, and participants are reported to have lost 7-8 kilos over the past two weeks.

The hunger strike was announced in a press statement made in front of the European Council and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture on August 23, and continues in the La Trés-Sainte-Trinité Church in Esplanade. After 5 Kurdistan İslamic Union (CİK) administrators joined the hunger strike on Friday, Çira TV employee İdris Bagok participated in the protest today.

VISIT FROM THE STRASBOURG BUDDHIST SOCIETY

A 7-people committee from the Strasbourg Buddhist Society visited the participants of the hunger strike yesterday, and Organizing Committee member Sezai Uçar welcomed the support of Buddhist people to the action that is organized for Shengal and Öcalan. Uçar noted that the committee stated that they would contact and pressure relevant institutions and continue to support the hunger strike.

Ezidi religious scholar Peşimam Ekrem is expected to speak to an audience of Kurdish and Buddhist people today, where participants will be informed about the goals of the hunger strike.

LOSS OF 7-8 KILOS

Dr. Fahrettin Gülşen, assigned by Kurdistan Red Crescent, announced that the participants of the hunger strike have lost 7-8 kilos over the past 13 days, 3 of the 5 people that are on an indefinite and irreversible hunger strike have irregular blood pressure. Dr. Gülşen also noted that the hunger strikers’ nervous systems are becoming more sensitive and body temperatures are becoming more irregular.

Lastly, Dr. Fahrettin Gülşen stated that the hunger strikers have not yet shown signs of serious complications, but expressed his concern that complications such as lung and kidney infections could emerge in the near future.