Ercan Kanar, an experienced lawyer and legal expert, commented on the isolation conditions of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan and said the Turkish state must implement the Nelson Mandela Rules immediately.
PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held in İmralı Prison for 22 years under isolation conditions.
Öcalan was allowed to use his right to a phone call on 25 March as a result of ongoing hunger strikes in prisons.
Lawyer Ercan Kanar commented on the deepening isolation and said the state allowed meetings only when difficulties arose, adding, “He [Öcalan] wants to emphasise that those kinds of moves are camouflage and shouldn’t be accepted, and that no one should be deceived. His rights regarding the law on the criminal execution of prisoners should be implemented in accordance with the minimum standard rules.”
Kanar invoked the Nelson Mandela Rules, which were overhauled by the United Nations in 2005 with the aim of ending the violations of prisoners’ rights.
Continuous cell confinement is not allowed, according to the Mandela Rules.
Finally, Kanar stressed that Öcalan should be set free.