MEP Laura Castel has called for the United Nations to intervene against human rights violations in Turkey’s İmralı Island prison, citing the extensive isolation of Abdullah Öcalan as emblematic of broader abuses against Kurds and dissidents. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 3 July, Castel stated, “The isolation of Mr Öcalan is at the heart of the attacks on the rights of Kurds and dissidents.”
Öcalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been imprisoned for 25 years under conditions widely condemned as inhumane. For the past 40 months, he has been held in total isolation, with no contact with the outside world. “In our view, the isolation regime has risen to the level of torture,” added Castel, a member of the International İmralı Peace Delegation.
The MEP argued that Öcalan’s isolation perpetuates the unresolved Kurdish issue. “The isolation imposed on Öcalan has become a model for practices in other prisons. His life sentence also deprives Mr Öcalan of his right to hope,” she said. Castel also serves as Deputy Chair of the European Left Group in the Council of Europe (CoE) and a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
İbrahim Bilmez, a member of Öcalan’s legal team, pointed out that the UN Commission had issued orders, the most recent in 2023, regarding Öcalan’s isolation after an appeal by his lawyers. “However, the state and government officials did not comply with the Committee’s request. On the contrary, the government responded with new decisions banning visits and phone calls by family, guardians and lawyers,” Bilmez stated.
Bilmez emphasised that the Kurdish question is central to Turkey’s current crises, noting, “It is a great chance for Turkey and the Turkish public that Mr Öcalan has done everything he could to solve the Kurdish question through democratic and peaceful means. Even now, in isolation, I am sure he is still contemplating solutions.”
The 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which commenced on 18 June, is set to conclude on 12 July.
Öcalan has been held in total incommunicado conditions as part of his 25-year solitary confinement on İmralı Island prison in Turkey. He has had no contact with the outside world—no phone calls, letters, legal visits or family visits for 40 months.
