PINK Floyd musician Roger Waters has demanded the release of Kurdish singer Nudem Durak, who has been jailed for 19 years in Turkey for performing songs in her native language.

He called on authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to release Ms Durak, who has been held in Bayburt prison since 2015.

“She’s our sister,” Mr Waters said. “Whatever you think of the Kurds’ desire for recognition, it is unacceptable for a country with a great historical art heritage like Turkey to treat artists like this.”

Ms Durak was jailed for “membership of a terrorist organisation” and “spreading terrorist propaganda” after singing at an event to mark Newroz, the Kurdish new year.

A global campaign for her release is supported by Mr Waters and others, including fellow musicians and veteran US communist Angela Davis.

Ms Durak’s acoustic guitar was broken by guards during a cell inspection in 2017.

Mr Waters has sent his black Martin acoustic guitar, signed by rock legends including Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Pete Townsend, Noel Gallagher and Mark Knopfler, to Ms Durak to highlight her plight.

“We have an absolute responsibility to support her and the hundreds of thousands of others who continue to suffer her fate with false imprisonment all over the world, not least in the United States and the United Kingdom,” he said.

The Free Nudem Durak campaign can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.