The Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) Batman (Elih) Provincial Organisation on Sunday organised a panel on “Isolation and hunger strikes” in Turkey.
Newroz Uysal, lawyer for the imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, and the Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP’s) MP Feleknas Uca attended the panel as speakers, Jin News reported.
Newroz Uysal stated that Abdullah Öcalan has been deprived of all his rights as a prisoner. ”He is not allowed lawyer or family visits. We do not know whether any book, any letter or any item has been given to him. We do not know about other conditions. As lawyers, we apply for an opinion every week. However, they have all been rejected. Things have reached such a stage that there has been no lawyer’s visit for eight years. Neither the prison administration nor the Ministry answer our calls,” she said.
She noted that up to the present moment, 11 disciplinary penalties had been given to Abdullah Öcalan. “Yet we have not been given information regarding the grounds of these penalties,” she said.
“The state’s Imralı policies are continuing. Despite this, Öcalan’s struggle also continues. When we met with Öcalan, he was calling for ’empowerment.’ He was calling on the Kurds to raise the level of struggle to further empower themselves, to strengthen themselves against the pressures.”
HDP’s MP Feleknas Uca also stated that Turkey’s ongoing cross-border operation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and the attacks against Makhmour (Mexmûr) Camp, Sinjar and North East Syria are connected to the prison isolation policies that are being applied heavily to Abdullah Öcalan.
“The whole world watched and supported Öcalan’s letter that was read outloud during the Newroz celebrations. Today, they remain silent about the occupation of Kurdish lands and the isolation taking place. These are the countries that send the most deadly weapons to Turkey right now. These weapons were also used in the attacks against Bashur [South] Kurdistan and Rojava. During this time, the prison isolation conditions have continued in order to prevent Öcalan’s philosophy from spreading,” she said.
The life Öcalan promotes tallies with the demand of peoples around the world, Uca stated. “Peoples of the world struggle for the freedom of Öcalan now. So, we also need to think about how we can fight more for Öcalan’s freedom and we need to put this into practice,” she said.
