Turkish authorities have arrested popular singer and DJ Omar Souleyman over alleged links to the Kurdish rebel group PKK.
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According to his son and the Turkish media, the Turkish authorities have arrested Souleyman for alleged links with the PKK. His son denies the accusation in all languages. According to his manager, the man was arrested at his home in Sanliurfa in southeastern Turkey where he has been running a bakery since 2011.
Souleyman once started his career as a DJ and performer at wedding parties. He managed to break through internationally with, among other things, his song ‘Warni Warni’. His style is an original mix of Arab and Kurdish dabke and electronics. The 55-year-old musician has already recorded more than 500 albums.
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Souleyman hails from the northern Syrian region of Al-Hasakah near the Turkish border. In 2011, he fled the Syrian civil war and settled on the other side of the border in Sanliurfa.
Return to Syria
It is still unclear where the allegations against Souleyman come from. The singer herself is of Arab-Syrian descent but comes from a mainly Kurdish region. Souleyman’s manager said he would be questioned over reports that he had recently traveled in Syria to a region under the control of the YPG, the “people’s defense units” in Syria under Kurdish control. According to the Turkish authorities, it is YPG a Syrian arm of the PKK.
In recent years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been very keen to nip any opposition in the bud by jailing people and perpetuating censorship on social media.
Omar Souleyman performed several times in Belgium. In 2014 he was on stage at Pukkelpop.
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