NEARLY 50 international celebrities signed a letter on Saturday demanding the release from prison and retrial of Kurdish singer Nudem Durak.

Ms Durak, who has been languishing in a Turkish prison since April 2015, ran a cultural centre and sang about the democratic, political and cultural struggle of her people. 

She has been sentenced to 19 years in prison and is not due for release until 2034.

The letter, signed by 47 celebrities, included authors Alice Walker, Arundhati Roy, and Annie Ernaux; film-makers Ken Loach and Carmen Castillo; actors Juliette Binoche and Miriam Margolyes; musicians Bryan Adams and Peter Gabriel and former football player, now actor, Eric Cantona. 

The letter said that the authorities have wrongly labelled the work carried out by Ms Durak as “terrorism.”

Ms Durak “is not a member of any party and has simply, through her voice and her art, given voice to a historically oppressed minority. 

“Through her voice, muzzled, beaten and tortured, it is the voice of millions of people that resounds,” the letter said.

Writing from her prison cell, Ms Durak said: “I, the child of these people, will not betray. 

“Against war, against exile, against the occupation that forbids us to cry, to laugh and even to speak, I will embrace music.”

Other Turkish and Kurdish artists have also been targeted by the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At the end of 2021, the singer Omar Souleyman, an international electro-folk star, was arrested. A few months later, the famous pop singer Gulsen was thrown into prison following a joke made during a concert. 

Kurdish singer Aynur Dogan also had one of her concerts cancelled by the authorities.

The signatories said: “Our duty — as artists committed to justice — is to amplify their voice and their message.” 

They said: “Nudem Durak is not a terrorist. Justice for her and for all political prisoners!”