Kurdish musician Ferhat Tunc is on an alleged execution list of opponents of authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the exiled Kurd said on Saturday in a video statement.
He said that he had been told by German authorities that his life was in danger after his name appeared on a hit list of 55 that includes opposition journalists and politicians.
“For 40 years I have been committed to the arts. At the same time, I raise my voice against human rights violations. I never distinguish between the people whose rights I stand up for,” he said.
“The journalists whose names are on this list are also after the truth.
“[The Turkish government] prevent us from living, working and speaking in our country. But we know that these days will pass, and for this reason we spend every second dreaming of returning to our country, because this country belongs to us,” Mr Tunc said on his YouTube channel.
The 57-year-old singer has been living in Germany since he was a teenager and has been sentenced a number of times in his absence for “terrorist propaganda” relating to his music.
He said that he was not frightened by the latest threats but called on Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to expose the perpetrators of the hit list and find out who is trying to kill those named on it.
In 2018 Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MP Garo Paylan revealed details of death squads that had been sent across Europe to target high-profile critics of the Turkish state. Just weeks later Kurdish footballer Deniz Naki was targeted, his car riddled with bullets in a shooting on a German autobahn.
And in recent weeks, Berlin-based journalist Erk Acarer was attacked and beaten in his home by three gunmen.
German police are said to be investigating the attack and the origins of the kill list.
Source; Morning Star
