ANKARA: A member of a popular folk music group that is banned in Turkey has died on the 288th day of a hunger strike protesting the government’s treatment of the band, according to a post on the group’s Twitter account.

Grup Yorum said singer Helin Bolek died on Friday at a home in Istanbul where she had been staging the hunger strike to force the government to reverse its treatment of the band and its members. She was 28.

Grup Yorum, known for its protest songs, is a folk collective with rotating band members.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2020