The Kurdish People’s Assembly hosted a symposium on political prisoners at SOAS University in London, UK, on 18 May, with a focus on the detention conditions of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Mazlum Dinç, Öcalan’s lawyer from the Asrin Law Office, provided an update on Öcalan’s situation at Imrali Prison Island. “Since 2015, for the past nine years, he has been under absolute solitary confinement,” Dinç stated, highlighting that lawyer and family visits have been almost entirely prohibited. Dinç emphasised the urgent need for international institutions, including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), to act.
Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, a Professor of Sociology at Cambridge University, offered an academic perspective on political imprisonment and state repression. “Political prisoners often bear a kind of anti-hegemonic violence,” he explained. Miley discussed how states often react to threats against their monopoly of legitimate violence by targeting political actors, resulting in the criminalisation of freedom movements and heightened polarisation.
The symposium, organised by the Kurdish People’s Assembly, the Platform for the Voice of Prisoners (TSP) and the International Committee for Solidarity with Political Prisoners, drew numerous academics, dignitaries, and representatives of various organisations.
İbrahim Avcıl, speaking on behalf of the symposium organisers, highlighted the isolation imposed on Öcalan. “The source of this isolation is not only the Turkish state,” Avcil stated, pointing to the silence of the CPT. “The CPT is complicit in this crime through its silence.”
Avcıl called for international resistance against isolation practices and urged for greater international solidarity.
Representatives from global solidarity movements also contributed to the discussions. Diana Diaz from the Peru Political Prisoners Solidarity Organisation highlighted how Peru disguises repression under the guise of ‘anti-terrorism.’
Chathura Gunathilaka from the Sri Lankan Front Line Socialist Party spoke on the criminalisation of national liberation and socialism movements by states.
Iranian lawyer Mohamad Hoşi addressed political repression in Iran, stating, “Any demand for democratic rights and freedoms is labelled as anti-regime and subjected to severe punishment.”
The event also included contributions from the Tamil community, highlighting state-led atrocities against Tamils in Sri Lanka, and calls for unified resistance.
