Kıvılcım Arat, a transsexual activist and a stage actress, announced on 6 February on her Twitter account that she had begun a hunger strike to show solidarity with Diren Coşkun, a transsexual inmate who started a hunger strike on 25 January.
Diren Coşkun, who is being kept at Tekirdağ Prison, started a hunger strike on the grounds that she was being denied many of her rights, starting with the right to medical surgery.
Arat, who is a member of the executive board of the LGBTI Solidarity Association, said Coşkun was being “thrown into the arms of death,” adding that it is a human duty to prevent this.
“I would like to share with you that I am starting a hunger strike as of today to not be a partner in this shame, to give voice to thousands of trans-inmates such as Diren and to strengthen Diren’s ties to life.” She said she will continue her hunger strike until all demands made by Diren Coşkun are met by authorities.
