In Turkey, the prominent Kurdish leader Leyla Zana was released on Wednesday after 10 years in jail. She is the leading symbol of the fight for Kurdish rights in Turkey. The former legislator, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, first gained international attention in 1991 when she spoke in Kurdish during her oath of allegiance to parliament causing an uproar in the country. Three years later she and three other Kurdish legislators from the pro-Kurdish Democracy Party were jailed allegedly for having ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK. Human rights groups and the European Union have long protested their detention. While Zana was released, her sentence has only been appealed, not dropped. On July 8 her appeal begins and she could face more prison time. Just hours before their release, Turkish state run television began for the first time broadcasting programs in the long banned Kurdish language. The moves come as Turkey is applying for membership in the European Union.