A Kurdish diaspora organisation in Germany has condemned Turkey’s “increasingly lawless” handling of political imprisonment and isolation of Abdullah Öcalan, describing the situation as an escalation of Turkey’s crackdown on Kurdish rights.
The Confederation of Kurdistan Communities in Germany (KON-MED) released a statement ahead of a 16 November rally in Cologne, Germany, strongly criticising Turkey’s handling of Öcalan’s imprisonment and describing it as a case of “lawlessness and a growing political norm of operating outside the law.” The statement said: “The İmralı regime shows how lawlessness and a legal vacuum are increasingly becoming political norms.” KON-MED, which represents Kurdish and other groups campaigning for Öcalan’s release, called for an end to his isolation so that he can contribute to a political solution.
Öcalan, a key figure for Kurdish identity and rights, has been isolated since his imprisonment in 1999 and only received his first family visit in years on 23 October. During the rare visit, the Kurdish leader reportedly expressed his willingness to work towards a peaceful solution, saying that under the right conditions, he “has the theoretical and practical strength to shift this phase from conflict and violence to a legal and political basis.”
The statement highlights a 2014 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which found that Öcalan’s sentence—without the possibility of parole—violated human dignity as defined in the European Convention on Human Rights. KON-MED underlined that Turkey has yet to comply with the ECHR decision and stressed that “every prisoner has the right to know the conditions and timing of their release.” Despite the review of the case by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in September 2024, no sanctions have been imposed on Turkey, the group noted.
Describing Öcalan as “the symbol of the Kurdish people’s struggle for freedom,” KON-MED said his release is crucial for the progress of a peaceful, democratic solution to the Kurdish question. “Every Kurd fighting for freedom identifies with Öcalan, knowing that he has been punished with isolation for 25 years just for his cause,” KON-MED stated.
The organisation called on supporters of democracy, human rights, and peace to join the demonstration on 16 November at the Deutz shipyard in Cologne and reiterated its commitment to “freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.”
