She said that although she did not speak English, the letters meant a great deal to her because they showed that people were thinking of her.īianca Jagger was to have accompanied me, but the Turkish authorities said that she could not come because they have strict regulations on who can gain access to someone in prison. We sat down together and she said how grateful she was for the many letters that she had received from people in Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom. She is a young, attractive woman of great dignity. When she met me, prison officers escorted her. I had heard much about her and seen pictures of her. The meeting with Leyla lasted about two and a half hours, and I was grateful to the prison authorities for allowing me that length of time. The only message it contained was to emphasise the point that it is possible for people in one country to live peacefully together despite differences in background and language. The card was in Welsh and was X-rayed before being handed over because the authorities did not understand the language and were afraid that it contained a subversive message. I took Leyla Zana a birthday card because it was her birthday. The prison governor thought that Leyla Zana should not be in prison and that she should have been released.

I sat in the prison governor's office for one and a half hours while he attempted to contact a Minister in the Turkish Government to obtain approval for my visit. There was a challenge at the main gate and it took some time to get into the prison. I had arranged to see her beforehand, but there was a difficulty when I got to the prison because the staff did not expect me. She was waiting for the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, which was reviewing the sentence given to her nine years previously. I was pleased to secure today's debate because it is two years since I saw Leyla Zana in prison in Ankara.

Writings from Prison by Leyla Zana