The International İmralı Peace Delegation visited the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) on Thursday to draw attention to the continued isolation of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in the high-security İmralı F Type Prison for the past 24 years.
Öcalan has been detained on the prison island of İmralı since 1999, and has been held in near-total isolation since 25 March 2021, with no access to family or legal representation. The PKK leader was previously allowed visits from family members and lawyers, but these have been suspended by Turkish authorities since 2016.
The İmralı Peace Delegation, made up of peace activists, politicians and academics from around the world, met with representatives from the ÖHD to discuss the situation facing Öcalan and to call for an end to his isolation. The delegation also called for the resumption of visits by family members and legal representatives, as well as an end to the broader crackdown on Kurdish political activity in Turkey.
During the visit, lawyer Nurettin Kuzu called on the Council of Europe to impose “serious sanctions” on Turkey. The group pointed out that the Turkish government continues to propagate anti-Kurdish sentiments, saying that Turkey has evolved into a more authoritarian regime as a result.
Lawyer Vedat Ece stated that Öcalan was not currently allowed to meet with his lawyers, and that he only met with his lawyers five times during his imprisonment.
Eda Önal, General Secretary of the branch, stated that there are at least 1,600 prisoners with health problems in prisons in Turkey and Kurdistan, and many sick prisoners have not been released, despite reports designating them as being too ill to remain in prison. Lawyer Nurettin Kuzu said that the interruption of talks with Öcalan is one of the main reasons for the increase in the number of prisoners in Turkey. Another reason is the non-implementation of high court and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgments, Kuzu added.
Lawyer Ayşe Acinikli stated that judges and prosecutors are inexperienced and do not know what to do in non-political situations, as too many prosecutors and judges were arrested after the 15 July 2016 coup attempt and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) members were transferred to the judiciary in their place.
