Turkey releases detained Syrian singer Souleyman
Turkey releases detained Syrian singer Souleyman
ANKARA (AFP) - Celebrated Syrian singer Omar Souleyman was released Friday after being detained on a "terrorist propaganda" charge in southeast Turkey, his lawyer told AFP.
"Omar Souleyman was released at 10:00 am (0700 GMT)," his lawyer Resit Tuna said.
Souleyman was detained on Wednesday in the southern Turkish city of Sanliurfa, where he has been running a bakery since escaping Syria s civil war which began in 2011.
Police questioned Souleyman over reported claims he had ties to the People s Protection Units, which Turkey says is the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
He was in custody for 24 hours at a police station in Sanliurfa, a province 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Syrian border, before being taken on Thursday to a shelter serving as a detention centre for people due to be deported from Turkey, Tuna said.
Sanliurfa governor s office was not able to immediately confirm the singer s release when contacted by AFP.
Souleyman has won international recognition for his melodic mix of dance and folk music, collaborating with artists such as Bjork and the Blur s frontman Damon Albarn.
