Leyla Zana – Special Focus Case Prisoner Freed!

TURKEY

(L-R) Selim Sadak, Leyla Zana, Orhan Dogan and Hatip Dicle rise their hands after a press conference in headquarters of People's Democracy Party (DEHAP) in Ankara June 09, 2004, after they were freed from prison. � AFP

Leyla Zana and three other parliamentarians were released from prison on June 9, 2004 by order of a Turkish appeals court. The four prisoners of conscience were freed conditionally, pending a retrial of their case. Amnesty International welcomes the release of Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak and Orhan Dogan, but the organization opposes any further legal action against them by the government.

Amnesty International USA championed Leyla Zana's case through the Casework Program's Special Focus Case project. More than 400 AIUSA groups in the Northeast Region, and many others around the country, have campaigned intensively for the release of Zana and her colleagues. They enlisted the aid of Members of Congress and other influential figures during the campaign, and organized demonstrations, teach-ins, concerts, and other fora to call for the release of the parliamentarians. They barraged successive Turkish governments with thousands upon thousands of appeals for freedom for the prisoners of conscience.

AIUSA will continue to closely monitor the case and will take action as needed.

More:

Turkey: Released prisoners of conscience should face no further trial
News release, Jun 9, 2004

Joint press statement by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Human Rights Association (IHD), the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) and Mazlum Der
News release, Jun 10, 2004