The Turkish Justice Ministry has confirmed that the third meeting between imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and a delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party will take place at İmralı Island on 27 February.
DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan announced earlier today that a formal request had been made to the Ministry of Justice for a third visit to İmralı Island Prison, where Öcalan has been detained in isolation since 1999. Speaking at a press conference, Doğan said the delegation was expected to meet Öcalan before the end of the week.
Hours later, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç confirmed the approval. “The request for a third visit has been approved. The DEM delegation will travel to İmralı tomorrow,” he said.
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According to the Mezopotamya Agency, the delegation will include DEM deputies Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder as well as Ahmet Türk, the sacked mayor of Mardin. The delegation also includes DEM party co-leaders Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları, DEM Party MP Cengiz Çiçek and lawyer Özgür Faik Erol of Asrın Law Office.
With the meeting confirmed, attention now turns to the content of Öcalan’s expected statement, to be announced by DEM Party officials in their press briefing in Istanbul. The expected announcement coincides with the anniversary of the Dolmabahçe Agreement, a key document in the previous 2015 peace process between the Turkish government and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Uncertainty remains over the format of Öcalan’s statement. According to sources, the DEM Party prefers a video message to symbolically challenge his isolation. However, the Ministry of Justice is reportedly insisting on a written statement instead.
