Political prisoner in Belgium

Since the 14 th of July, Feriye Erdal, Anti Fascist militant, member of the DHKP-C (Turkish) is in hunger strike against here detention in prison in Belgium. She is imprisoned for more than 10 months. He Health situation is getting worse, we need to act now.

Today it is a Turkish Anti- fascist militant who is in Jail for the only reason that she is declared « Enemy of state » in Turkey as 10.000 other political prisoners are in Turkey.

If we allow this to happen in a country like Belgium, tomorrow it will be union workers, anti fascists, democrats, … anyone who does not want submit to those in Power.

The High Commissionner for Refugees is however of the opinion that Ms Erdal cannot be sent to Turkey or to another country. That would be contrary to article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. Fehriye Erdal should thus be freed, all the more so as the Belgian Council of State suspended both the decision to refuse her right of stay and the order to leave the country, delivered on 25 July 2000 by the Minister of the Interior.

Ms Erdal has been on hunger-strike since July 14. In order to demand her liberation, fifteen other people began a solidarity hunger-strike on August 5.

On 4 August, the President of the Belgian League of Human Rights, Dan Van Raemdonck wrote to the Minister of the Interior, Antoine Duquesne: "We ask you to put an end to this arbitrary detention, since expulsion from Belgium is not possible without particularly grave risks".

In consequence, the undersigned demand the immediate and unconditonal liberation of Fehriye Erdal.

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To be returned to Comité de solidarité avec les prisonniers politiques

rue Belliard, 197, boite 8

Téléphone: 02 280 22 28

Fax: 02 280 22 29