Famed Syrian singer Omar Souleyman arrested in Turkey
Omar Souleyman is accused by Turkey of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, aka PKK.
Renowned Syrian singer Omar Souleyman has been arrested in Turkey for supposedly being a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Turkish media reported today.
Souleyman was arrested in the southeastern Sanliurfa province, which is located on the Syrian border. Turkish authorities sought to arrest him on suspicion of being a member of the PKK and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria. The evidence is that he allegedly gave a speech in Germany several years ago praising imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, Ihlas News Agency reported.
The arrest was widely reported in Turkish media today.
Souleyman is a famous Arab singer from Tel Tamer in northeast Syria. He left his country for Turkey after the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Souleyman primarily sings in Arabic, but his Kurdish-language song “Warni Warni” is one of his biggest hits, and has more than 94 million views on YouTube. Souleyman is not overtly political, and many of his songs address romantic themes.
