Turkey releases detained Syrian singer Souleyman

Turkey releases detained Syrian singer Souleyman
Turkey releases detained Syrian singer Souleyman
1 min read
19 November, 2021
Turkey releases detained Syrian singer Souleyman [Getty]

Celebrated Syrian singer Omar Souleyman was released Friday after being detained on a "terrorist propaganda" charge in southeast Turkey, his lawyer told AFP.

"Omar Souleyman was released at 10:00 am (0700 GMT)," his lawyer Resit Tuna said.

Souleyman was detained on Wednesday in the southern Turkish city of Sanliurfa, where he has been running a bakery since escaping Syria's civil war which began in 2011.

Police questioned Souleyman over reported claims he had ties to the People's Protection Units, which Turkey says is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

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The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

He was in custody for 24 hours at a police station in Sanliurfa, a province 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Syrian border, before being taken on Thursday to a shelter serving as a detention centre for people due to be deported from Turkey, Tuna said.

Sanliurfa governor's office was not able to immediately confirm the singer's release when contacted by AFP.

Souleyman has won international recognition for his melodic mix of dance and folk music, collaborating with artists such as Bjork and the Blur's frontman Damon Albarn.

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