People are asked to tweet for the mayor of Sur Abdullah Demirbaþ.

Demirbaþ is not allowed out of the country and so he is prevented from getting the necessary treatment for his illness.

The new social media campaign aims to help rise the issue and put pressure on Turkey because it allows the mayor of Sur out of the country to get treatment.

The text of the campaign is as follows: "Rather than being commended and supported for his contributions to local administration through providing multi-lingual municipality services, mayor of Sur municipality in Amed (Diyarbakir), Abdullah Demirbaþ, was given a heavy prison sentence. While imprisoned, his health began to deteriorate. Mr. Demirbaþ is in urgent need of treatment, which he can only receive abroad, but due to a court order against him, he is not permitted to leave Turkey. Because his disease cannot be treated inside Turkey, it is as if Mr. Demirbaþ is sentenced to death.

The ban on leaving the country in the case of Mr. Demirbaþ, is a harsh measure which goes beyond its intended purpose. Considering Mr. Demirbaþ’s health condition, the ban on leaving the country obviously disregards international human rights agreements.

The court is determined to keep the ban in place.

Our campaign aims to draw worldwide attention to this injustice through social media".

To support the campaign people are asked to join http://twitter.com through smart phone or computer and tweet #abdullahdemirbas a few times every Thursday.