François Devedjian, a Paris Bar lawyer, has labelled Abdullah Öcalan the ‘Mandela of the Kurds’, urging for his release and condemning Turkey’s human rights violations against the Kurdish people.
Öcalan, a Kurdish leader, has been held in solitary confinement for over 25 years, with no news of his condition for the past 40 months. Devedjian, part of a group of Paris Bar lawyers who recently sent a protest letter to Turkey’s Ministry of Justice, spoke out against this situation in an interview with Medya News’ Serkan Demirel on Friday.
“I interpret this as the practice of a state, Turkey, that does not respect basic human rights and shows even less respect for the Kurdish people and their representatives, especially Abdullah Öcalan, who is an important figure representing the Kurdish people,” Devedjian stated.
He highlighted the lack of communication with Öcalan, saying, “We don’t even know if Abdullah Öcalan is still alive. There is no current communication. He could be ill. We don’t know his physical or mental health condition.”
Devedjian criticised the ban on Öcalan’s lawyers visiting him, interpreting it as a message from the Turkish state. “I think the message Turkey wants to convey is that Abdullah Öcalan does not exist, just as the Armenian issue does not exist for them. This is a culture of denial, denial of people, peoples and individuals,” he explained.
The lawyer called for stronger action from the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT). “The CPT can do the same for Turkey as it did for Azerbaijan. I think this would be completely justified, and I even think that the blatant, repeated and institutionalised human rights violations in Turkey justify real sanctions, much more than just the publication of reports,” Devedjian urged.
Emphasising the importance of campaigning for Öcalan’s release, Devedjian said, “If everyone wants peace and in any case an improvement in the situation of the Kurdish people and in relations with all their neighbours, Abdullah Öcalan is a person who can achieve this.”
He concluded by stressing the need for Öcalan’s lawyers to have access to him, stating, “This is, of course, a need for the Kurds, but I think it is also important for the Turks and for humanity to bring this issue to the fore and for everyone to understand what is at stake.”
