The 73rd birthday of Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was born on April 4, 1949, in the village of Ömerli (Amara) in the Halfeti district of the southeastern province of Turkey, Urfa (Riha), was celebrated with tree planting in Tunceli (Dersim).
Celebrating Öcalan’s birthday, citizens planted trees on the banks of Vargasor Creek in the Munzur Valley and other parts of the city. A total of 73 trees were planted as Öcalan turned 73.
Abdullah Öcalan is the leader of the PKK and has been imprisoned in solitary confinement in İmrali island, Turkey, since 1999. He has been subjected to severe solitary confinement and also denied visits from his own team of lawyers and family members.
The last time Öcalan was able to have any contact at all with someone from outside the prison compound was when he had spoken with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 25, 2021, and the phone conversation was cut off after only a few minutes.
The last time the lawyers were able to contact him was in August 2019.
Kurdish people have been demanding freedom for their leader and launching campaigns worldwide all these years. However, Turkish officials have not been responding to any of them and continue their policy which has been violating the basic human rights of Öcalan since 1999.
