WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than 150 members of Congress urged the Clinton administration Thursday to demand the "immediate and unconditional" release from jail of the first Kurdish woman elected to Turkey's parliament.
 
"I am saddened that Leyla Zana was put in prison for doing exactly what I am doing today -- speaking out on human rights issues," said Rep. Elizabeth Furse, D-Ore., one of the sponsors of the motion. "And I am outraged that she is jailed by Turkey, a country that the United States supports with massive aid and military assistance."

Zana, a campaigner for Kurdish rights, was sent to prison in 1994 for 15 years on a charge of spreading separatist propaganda. She has won several human rights awards and is often mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Turkey is frequently accused of mistreating the country's 12 million Kurds through such tactics as forced evacuations and prohibiting them from using their own language in schools or broadcasting.