The Asrın Law Office, lawyers for Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, has criticised the anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe (CoE) for not visiting Imrali Prison during their recent visit to Turkey, calling it “unacceptable” and arguing that this approach undermines the CPT’s responsibility to prevent torture and inhuman treatment.
During an ad hoc visit to Turkey from 13 to 22 February 2024, a delegation from the CoE’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) focused on the treatment of individuals in high-security prisons, with particular attention to the conditions of LGBTI and women prisoners. However, the delegation’s failure to visit Imrali F-type High Security Prison, where Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan is held, has sparked criticism from the lawyers, who branded the omission “unacceptable.”
The CPT’s discussions with Turkish officials, including Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç and Deputy Minister Ramazan Can, touched upon the situation at Imrali, particularly regarding the external communications of prisoners. Yet the absence of a direct visit to Imrali and the lack of engagement with Öcalan and his co-detainees for over 35 months have raised concerns about the ongoing isolation and alleged conditions of torture.
The statement from the law office highlighted the CPT’s approach as incompatible with its mandate to prevent torture, criticising the reliance on discussions with officials rather than firsthand assessments. The statement also referenced the non-compliance of Turkey with the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s directive for immediate access to legal counsel, further undermining the absolute nature of the prohibition of torture.
The lawyers expressed apprehension that the CPT’s current stance might perpetuate the inhumane conditions at Imrali, and urged the CPT to publicly disclose its findings and observations regarding Imrali in order to address the communication blackout and to facilitate legal and family visits.
The departure of the Committee from Turkey without visiting Imrali Prison also sparked criticism also from Sezai Temelli, the Deputy Group Chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, who pointed out that human rights advocacy cannot be confined within the boundaries set by bureaucracy, suggesting that the CPT’s legitimacy is now under question due to this oversight.
Temelli highlighted the critical concern regarding Öcalan’s health due to the absence of any news for over three years and criticised the CPT for its apparent indifference to serious human rights violations and legal non-compliance in Turkey, particularly regarding the ongoing isolation in İmralı. He argued that by ignoring these issues, the CPT implicitly condones these injustices, thereby undermining its own foundation and the broader struggle for human rights in Europe.
Öcalan has been in solitary confinement in Imralı Island Prison for 25 years, for the last three years of which he has been detained completely incommunicado. The Kurdish community views this as a deliberate strategy by the Turkish state to create rifts within the Kurdish movement and weaken it by depriving it of its leader’s guidance.
The CPT has published reports concerning its visits to the high-security prison on the island of Imralı in Turkey, including visits made in April 2016. While these reports have noted improvements in the material conditions of detention, the CPT has expressed serious concerns about the deterioration in the prisoners’ contact with the outside world, particularly highlighting that prisoners have been prevented from receiving visits from their lawyers and relatives.
There have been regular appeals from various law and human rights organisations urging the CPT to address severe human rights violations at Imrali Prison. Despite the CPT’s findings and subsequent reports, there have been calls for the CPT to urgently visit İmralı Prison again and to publicly share their findings and recommendations, given the lack of substantial improvements and ongoing severe isolation and solitary confinement conditions.
Although the Committee has conducted routine visits to Turkey as part of its mandate, it has not to date provided a detailed public report specifically on the conditions at İmralı Prison. It is important to note that the CPT’s ability to publicly disclose its findings is contingent upon receiving consent from the concerned government.
