KURDISH SINGER HOZAN COMERT DEPORTED FROM TURKEY

[Aslan]

Having been prosecuted and detained at the airport due to his Kurdish songs, Hozan Comert has been deported on grounds that he is not a citizen of Turkey and his entering Turkey despite the investigation launched against him is against the Passport Law.

Hozan Comert came to Turkey from Germany to get on the stage at a concert organized by the Federation of Associations of Democratic Students (DÖDEF) on the 18th of May to show solidarity with Kurds in Rojava (West Kurdistan within Syrian borders). He was detained at around 06.30 at Sabiha Gökçen Airport in Istanbul.

Comert was sued and detained for “making propaganda for an organization” due to the songs he sang at concerts in the Kurdish districts of Van and Nusaybin, Rezan Sarıca, his lawyer, said.

During his interrogation, Comert said that he did not make propaganda for any organization and that he performed his art and reflected the lives of Kurds in his songs.

Comert was released after the interrogation but sent to the Sabiha Gökçen Airport to be deported on account of the fact that he was not a Turkish citizen and he entered Turkey despite the arrest warrant issued for him within the Passport Law.

The singer’s lawyer said that Comert was kept waiting for hours in handcuffs while he was held in the courthouse. When they informed the prosecutor of the situation, the prosecutor reacted by saying “What if he runs away” and did not remove his handcuffs. But when his lawyer said Comert was an artist and insisted that he was not planning on running away, they had to remove the handcuffs, his lawyer reported.

VIDEO LINK OF HIM SINGING:

http://kurdishrights.org/2013/05/18/kur ... -turkey-2/

[Anthea]

It is truly wonderful to see exactly how open and welcoming Turkey has become towards anything Kurdish. They way Turkey welcomes Kurdish singers is proof of the love and understanding Turkey intends to show towards Kurds in this time of burgeoning brotherhood and social cohesion