A member of a popular folk music group that is banned in Turkey has died on the 288th day of a hunger strike. The singer and a colleague had started the strike while imprisoned to protest at the government’s treatment of their band, according to a post on the group’s Twitter account.
Grup Yorum, known for their protest songs, said Helin Bolek, 28, had died on Friday at a home in Istanbul where she had been staging the hunger strike in an attempt to pressure the government into reversing its position on the band and its members.
Last March, eight members were detained during a raid on the cultural center and accused of belonging to the DHKP-C, a militant Marxist group, which the Turkish government considers a terrorist organization, as does Germany.
Member of banned Turkish music group dies after hunger strike
