Prominent European politicians Emmanuel Fernandes and Malin Anna Björk have expressed grave concern over the conditions of detention of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in solitary confinement in Turkey’s İmralı Island Prison since 1999, and stressed the importance of resolving the Kurdish issue through peaceful means in a recent interview with Medya Haber TV.
Fernandes, a French politician representing La France Insoumise, stressed the need for the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to engage directly with Öcalan. He stressed that previous reports had revealed alarming deviations from standard conditions of detention. Fernandes urged international institutions and governments to put pressure on the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to facilitate Öcalan’s release, which he said was crucial for a lasting and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question in the Middle East. He stressed the fundamental rights of the Kurdish people to express themselves without repression and condemned what he described as the Erdoğan regime’s relentless attacks.
Björk, a member of the European Parliament from the Swedish Left Party and The Left, echoed Fernandes’ concerns and emphasised the rights of prisoners, including access to legal representation, family visits and freedom from isolation. She stressed the importance of dialogue in achieving peace and political solutions in the region and called for Öcalan to be allowed to take part in such discussions. Björk criticised the authoritarian nature of the Erdoğan government and called for international pressure to reject repressive political tactics. She emphasised the central role of the Kurdish people in the peace process and urged support for dialogue and peace initiatives.
Both politicians stressed the need for a political solution to the Kurdish question, condemned Erdoğan’s repressive tactics and called for international support for dialogue and peace processes.
Their remarks, made at an event in Strasbourg on Tuesday in support of the “Freedom for Öcalan, a political solution to the Kurdish question” campaign, reflect growing concern among European politicians about human rights violations and political repression against the Kurdish community in Turkey.
