Syrian singer Omar Suleiman, who was arrested in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, was released late Friday night, according to a photojournalist with Agence France-Presse.
The Syrian electro-pop star, who has been in Turkey for a decade, has been arrested by police in Sanliurfa on charges of “terrorist propaganda” over his alleged links to the Kurdish PKK and YPG.
So far it has not been clarified whether the charges against him have been dropped.
Ankara considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG), Syria’s main Kurdish militia, to be a branch of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Omar Suleiman’s lawyer had previously announced the release of his client. Earlier, the singer was taken to a refugee detention center inside the Haran refugee camp, about 15 kilometers from the border with Syria.
After his release, Suleiman went to his home in Karakoprou, near Urfa, where his relatives and about 30 fans were waiting for him. “I love Turkey. “Europeans have offered me asylum but I love this country and I want to stay here,” he said.
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