In a concerted effort to address the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and the issues of press freedom and political repression in Turkey, the International Lawyers’ Delegation Against Isolation embarked on a critical visit to Diyarbakır (Amed) on Thursday.
The international delegation, featuring prominent legal professionals from several European nations and South Africa, brought attention to the severe conditions of isolation experienced by political prisoners in Turkey, especially the PKK leader.
Öcalan has been subjected to incommunicado detention for the past three years on the Turkish high security prison island of İmralı, where he has been incarcerated since 1999. The Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Parliament (EP) have not effectively intervened to alleviate Öcalan’s situation, despite numerous calls for action.
The Asrın Law Office, acting on behalf of Öcalan, and the European Union Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) have both levied severe criticisms against the CoE’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) for omitting a visit to Imrali during their latest mission to Turkey. The EUTCC described this oversight as a dereliction of duty.
The legal professionals also met with key figures from the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) and the Mesopotamia Women Journalists Association (MKG), to discuss critical challenges faced by journalists in the region.
DFG Co-President Serdar Altan underscored the censorship and imprisonment of journalists, and noted the imprisonment of 44 media workers due to their professional activities.
“Despite all the pressures, our friends are trying to do journalism, to convey the truths. Despite these pressures, the free press continues to stand, to write,” Altan said.
Roza Metina, President of the MKG, emphasised a dual discrimination faced by Kurdish and women journalists.
“We try to be the voice of not only Kurdish women journalists but all women journalists in the world,” Metina said, adding, “In Kurdistan, journalists face pressure twice over because they are both Kurdish and women.”
The delegation visited the Diyarbakır Bar Association, where it’s president, Nahit Eren, addressed specific challenges encountered in political cases and highlighted several legal cases against journalists, including DFG Co-President Dicle Müftüoğlu. Notably, having been imprisoned for eight months, Müftüoğlu was released by the court after the delegation attended her trail, showcasing the positive impact of solidarity.
Eren went onto highlight the alignment of the country’s judiciary with the government’s stance on Kurdish issues, noting a fluctuation in the judiciary’s approach to political cases depending on the political climate regarding the Kurdish situation.
“When the approach to the Kurdish issue is moderate, the judiciary’s approach is also moderate. As the process hardens, so does the judiciary,” Eren explained.
Eren pointed out the existence of ‘special’ courts and trial elements in political cases, which significantly impact the defence and the attitude towards lawyers handling these cases.
He also revealed that members of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, at the forefront of tackling the unresolved Kurdish issue, have faced the highest number of accusations, detentions and trials, with 85 lawyers currently facing legal proceedings.
The Bar Association president shared challenges of confidentiality and restriction on lawyers in political trials, as well as the violations of rights in the region, illustrating pervasive legal hurdles in advocating for justice and human rights in Turkey.
The meeting concluded the delegation’s visit to Diyarbakır, with plans to continue engagements in Istanbul the following day.
