Zainab Jalalian, a Kurdish political prisoner detained in Khoy Prison, Rojhilat, Iran, on January 18 wrote a letter to Leyla Guven who is on hunger strike for 74 days in Amed prison. In the letter, Jalalian expresses her solidarity and wishes success for Guven.

The letter is as follows:

“Kurdistan is the mother of all civilizations, but authoritarian dictators have always sought to destroy this golden progress. Kurdistan has been targeted by these dictatorial approaches, the result of which was nothing but the death of thousands of innocent people. The oppression against the Kurds in Turkey is fierce, Turkey sees the solution in the fascist aggression. The fascist crimes are not only carried out against the Kurdish people. This oppression is a cruelty on both sides because the economic crisis in Turkey has made the Turkish people’s situation worse for every day. The devastating wars in the region have caused the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands, while the Kurds have always wanted peace with neighboring states, and with their Democratic Confederalism have sought a solution to the problems. Indeed this idea is a serious threat to the authoritarian regimes, as it secures the interests of peoples, and since the Kurds are leading such project, they are facing attacks more than everyone. With their historical background of resistance, a leader like Abdullah Ocalan, representatives such as Leyla Guven and thousands of freedom fighters, the Kurds try to remove the isolation imposed on Ocalan.

Dear Leyla, I know that lack of information about ongoing developments is worse than torture. I understand you with all my being. I know you are strong, free, and you have a spirit of resistance that becomes resilient with each pressure from dictators. My dear Leyla; I am Zainab, Zainab Jalalian, behind the prison bars, when I hear the echo of your freedom struggle, I am more determined and resilient to fight for the oppressed. I should be hopeful that in so many days of hunger strike there would not be a lot of harm to your body. Because your health is very important to me. My thoughts are with you. Leyla, my dear, no effort will be unheard. I believe that you will succeed with your endurance and resistance. Dearest Leyla, love is the sound of the distances. I embrace you with all my will and I wish you to excel with this historic test. Because you and the people like you are the vanguards of a global struggle. So you deserve the best.”