Turkish opposition: Imprisoned party chief has gone on hunger strike

Istanbul (dpa) - The head of Turkey‘s pro-Kurdish opposition party has launched a hunger strike from prison.Peoples‘ Democratic Party (HDP) chief Selahattin Demirtas began refusing any intake of food on Friday in the maximum-security prison in western Turkey‘s Edirne, the party said on Friday. HDP lawmaker Abdullah Zeydan, a fellow inmate, has also joined the hunger strike.The party officials are showing solidarity with more than 100 political prisoners in Turkey who are protesting the conditions for detainment during the country‘s state of emergency. Demirtas communicated through party officials that he and Zeydan have taken up the hunger strike in protest at "unlawful" and "inhumane" practices that prisoners are subject to, including "extensive torture," solitary confinement, unannounced cell searches and the confiscation of personal property.Demirtas is among a group of HDP members who were detained in November on terrorism-related accusations. He and 12 others from the pro-Kurdish party are currently in custody awaiting trial.