More than 40 European trade unions and political parties as well as lawyers, political experts and civil society leaders have demanded action to ensure the security and well-being of jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan in an emergency press briefing outside the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday.
Violation of UN ‘Mandela Rules
The organisations underlined the contravention of the United Nations ‘Mandela Rules‘ concerning the treatment of prisoners. Speakers representing the organisations pointed out that the punitive measures inflicted on Öcalan, such as indefinite solitary confinement and prohibition from family contact, amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, breaching Rule 43 of the Mandela Rules.
Furthermore, the role of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), a body under the Council of Europe (CoE), came under scrutiny during the briefing.
The speakers stated that the CPT had previously issued more than 30 reports criticising the conditions in İmralı prison, but that concerns had been raised about their most recent delegation to İmrali, which included a doctor, in September 2022, and the authenticity of the information contained within the subsequent report published in March 2023, which was also lacking in any information on İmralı.
The briefing stressed the urgent need for clarification on the circumstances of this visit and whether or not a stated meeting with Öcalan did indeed take place, as conflicting reports from the CPT and the Turkish Justice Minister have created a cloud of doubt.
“Öcalan’s absolute incommunicado detention is affecting regional stability”
The speakers emphasised that the isolation surrounding Öcalan was not just an issue of individual rights but one with far-reaching implications for Turkey’s Kurdish conflict. They stated that Öcalan’s absolute incommunicado detention is a significant hurdle in the efforts to peacefully resolve the long-standing conflict in Turkey, affecting regional stability and human rights.
The speakers laid out a set of policy recommendations at the conclusion of the briefing, urging immediate action from various political bodies. These include the Turkish government implementing previous recommendations regarding prison conditions in İmrali and the CoE discussing Turkey’s refusal to comply with these recommendations.
The briefing closed with a call to all relevant domestic and international political actors to work towards Öcalan’s release, enabling him to play a role in negotiations to find a lasting, just and democratic political solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey.
24 years in solitary confinement
Öcalan has been held in solitary confinement on İmralı Island in Turkey since his arrest in 1999.
The PKK leader has been denied any kind of contact with the outside world for 28 months. The most recent contact with his relatives and legal team dates back to March 2021 and August 2019 respectively.
