Kurdish musician Bengîn was sentenced to prison for singing Kurdish songs during the Newroz celebrations in the Diyadin district of Ağrı on March 25.
According to the news in Yeni Özgür Politika, the musician was sentenced to 1 year in prison for “making illegal organization propaganda” through his songs “Rojbaş”, “Milîtano” and “Serhildan Jiyane” in the first hearing of the case held in Ağrı on June 26.
Stating that six lawsuits have been filed against him on similar grounds since 1997, Bengîn said in a statement regarding the new lawsuit, “All of the songs I have sung are songs published with banderoles from the Ministry of Culture. Many artists have also sung these songs, and they still do. I sang them in the Newroz program I attended, just like everyone sings them everywhere.”
