Leyla Guven, former co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and former mayor of the municipality of Viransehir in the Sanliurfa, and eight other women, who are behind bars in Elazig prison, are facing a probe for singing in Kurdish, Duvar said.

Guven, who was stripped of her parliamentary status in June 2020, was sentenced in December to 22 years and three months in prison for membership of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and two counts of terrorist propaganda.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and European Union, has been fighting against the Turkish state for four decades. Ankara accuses the HDP of acting in the interest of and harboring sympathy for the PKK, a charge the party denies.

Guven and the other inmates “danced to and sang in an unapparent language,’’ the official report filed against the women said.

The inmates were given three days to file their verbal or written defense, Duvar said.

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