Mr. President of the Republic of Turkey,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Mr. President of the Great Assembly,
Mrs Leyla Zana has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the 5th Criminal Court of Diyarbakir for crimes of opinion. She was sentenced on the basis of disputable articles of the Penal Code which do not sufficiently respect freedom of expression, and in conditions contested by the counsel for the defence.
Remember that Mrs Leyla Zana, elected in 1991 as Member of Parliament for Diyarbakir, arrested in 1994, sentenced to 15 years in prison, released in 2004, is very well known in Europe as a militant struggling “against intolerance, fanaticism and oppression” and that her previous imprisonment had sparked numerous protests.
Remember also that Leyla Zana received the “Sakharov Freedom of Thought Prize” in 1995, named after the scientist and Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, and created in 1988 by the European Parliament to honor individuals or organizations struggling for human rights and defending freedom.
In the name of freedom of expression, we ask you to prevent the renewed imprisonment of Mrs. Leyla Zana, to act in order to have the proceedings dropped and to firmly involve Turkey on the road to democracy and peace.
Respectfully,
To see the list of first signatories and to sign the petition, please follow the link.