Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Mithat Sancar said that the isolation on Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK), has a direct link with Turkey’s war policy, reported Mezopotamya News Agency.
Mithat Sancar spoke to party members during a parliamentary group meeting to discuss the isolation on Öcalan, the assault on the İstanbul provincial co-chair of the HDP Ferhat Encü by police, and the crackdown on the HDP.
“The heavy isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Prison is directly related to the deadlock in the Kurdish issue and the policies of war,” said Sancar.
“We are saying that the isolation on Öcalan is directly related to the political agenda in Turkey and the region. It is directly linked with the policies followed in the Kurdish issue. Thus, it is a mistake to see it as a problem only for us and only for the Kurdish people. It is Turkey’s issue. Everyone needs to understand this clearly,” he added.
Underlining the incommunicado status of Öcalan for the last 21 months, the co-chair pointed to the recent visit by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and called on the committee to make it clear whether they meet Öcalan or not.
“In a statement, Asrın Law Bureau mentioned the allegation that Öcalan did not meet with the CPT delegation. This situation must be clarified,” said Sancar.
The co-chair said that CPT and the Turkish government’s lack of clarity over the issue has further increased anxieties over the health and well-being of the Kurdish leader.
“It has now reached an intensifying political, legal and humanitarian stage. What needs to be done at this stage is clear, obvious. Öcalan should be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family immediately,” said Sancar.
European lawyers have stated that the isolation against Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan is the biggest prisoner human rights violation committed in the last century.
