MÊRDİN, NORTHERN KURDISTAN
Erkan Benli, the lead singer of the Koma Sê Bira music group, who was among those arrested after the curfew that was announced on 26 May 2016 in Nisêbîn district of Mêrdin, was sentenced to 12 days in an isolation cell. It was reported that a phone call he made at the Mêrdin E Type Closed Prison, where Erkan was brought for trial from the Samsun Bafra Type-T Closed Prison, was held as a reason for the punishment.
In the telephone conversation in question, the administration claims that Erkan Benli has spoken to someone whose name was not on the authorised call list.
ACQUIRED LIFE PENALTIES
Benli, who was still a guest in the Mêrdin Type-E Closed Prison, appeared before the judge on 16 October and was sentenced to life imprisonment with the allegation of “Breaking the unity of the Country and the State.”
The fascist court sentenced Benli to “15 years for attempted murder, 3 years for damaging public property, and 1 year and 15 months for Propaganda of the Organization through Press and Publication.”
