The Turkey rapporteur for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Stefan Schennach has declared solitary confinement practices in Turkish prisons equivalent to torture, announcing plans to visit imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Schennach’s statement follows his inspection of Turkish prisons on 11-14 June, which revealed multiple rights violations, including the isolation conditions imposed on Öcalan in İmralı F-Type High Security Closed Prison.
“Solitary confinement in prison violates human rights and is on a par with torture. I will apply to visit prisoner Öcalan,” Schennach said in an interview with Mezopotamya Agency’s Berivan Kutlu on Sunday.
The rapporteur plans to conduct further prison visits in January to continue his monitoring work. He also criticised the recent appointment of trustees to municipalities run by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.
“Elected mayors are elected mayors. The government cannot be arbitrary with the will of the people; it must accept democracy,” Schennach explained, referring to the seizure of authority in Kurdish-majority Mardin (Mêrdîn), Batman (Êlih) provinces and the Halfeti (Xelfetî) district of Urfa (Riha).
Schennach stressed his ongoing efforts to ensure Turkey’s compliance with European Court of Human Rights decisions. “I insisted on the implementation of ECHR decisions in all my meetings with the government and parties, and I will continue to insist,” he said.
