Leading human rights lawyer and activist Eren Keskin has delineated the core legal and institutional changes required for an effective reconciliation process in Turkey. Engaging in the ongoing discourse surrounding imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for peace and democracy, Keskin underscored that the state must demonstrate a sincere commitment to addressing systemic injustices, particularly concerning the Kurdish issue and broader political repression.
Abdullah Öcalan, the founder and ideological leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been imprisoned on Turkey’s İmralı Island since 1999. Over the past 26 years, he has been held in conditions of extreme isolation, with only rare exceptions. For nearly four years, he has been in total incommunicado detention, with the only exceptions being four visits from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party delegations since October 2024. He has been denied regular access to legal counsel and family visits, a practice widely condemned as a violation of international human rights law.
On 27 February 2025, Öcalan issued what has since been called the ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society,’ in which he proposed the ending armed struggle and dissolution of the PKK while advocating for a democratic transformation in Turkey. This call was based on ongoing indirect communication and negotiations between state actors and Öcalan dating back to October 2024. It has been widely interpreted as an attempt to establish a political framework for resolving the Kurdish issue through democratic means.
Keskin foregrounded the critical humanitarian imperative of releasing nearly 2,000 severely ill detainees held in Turkey’s prisons. “No reconciliation process can have legitimacy if it fails to address the conditions of those who are most vulnerable. The immediate release of gravely ill prisoners is a non-negotiable starting point,” she asserted.
She elaborated on the structural inequities embedded within Turkey’s penal system, noting the stark disparity between judicial and political prisoners. “While judicial detainees frequently benefit from early release provisions, political prisoners endure disproportionately extended incarcerations, often subjected to arbitrary disciplinary measures to prolong their detention,” Keskin remarked.
Keskin identified the abolition of Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law (TMK) as an indispensable step towards democratisation. “The TMK has functioned as an instrument of political suppression, criminalising dissent and silencing opposition voices. Its scope is excessively broad, infringing on freedom of speech, press, and political activism. The law has been a major point of contention in Turkey’s stalled EU accession negotiations, further isolating the country from European legal standards. Its repeal is fundamental to ensuring freedom of expression and association,” she stated.
Highlighting the law’s weaponisation against activists, academics, and journalists, she maintained that democratic governance cannot coexist with sweeping legal frameworks that equate political criticism with terrorism. “An essential condition for genuine reconciliation is dismantling the legal mechanisms that perpetuate authoritarianism,” she asserted.
Keskin drew attention to the systematic isolation of Öcalan and other İmralı prisoners, condemning their prolonged incommunicado detention as a flagrant violation of international human rights standards. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in multiple cases that Turkey’s indefinite imprisonment of Öcalan without parole prospects constitutes a violation of the ‘right to hope,’ a legal principle requiring that all prisoners, including those serving life sentences, have the opportunity for sentence review and conditional release. Despite these rulings, Turkey has refused to implement any reforms concerning Öcalan’s detention conditions.
“Turkey is a signatory to international conventions that mandate compliance with ECtHR rulings. The persistent refusal to grant Öcalan and other political prisoners access to legal representation and family contact is a deliberate obstruction of their fundamental rights,” Keskin stated.
Keskin underscored the urgency of reinstating the Istanbul Convention, a legally binding international treaty designed to combat gender-based violence and domestic abuse. Turkey unilaterally withdrew from the convention in 2021, despite widespread opposition from civil society and human rights organisations. “Given the alarming rates of femicide and gender-based violence in Turkey, the state’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention represents a profound regression in human rights protections. Reinstating these legal safeguards is imperative,” she argued.
She also condemned escalating state rhetoric targeting LGBTQ+ communities, characterising it as a deliberate strategy to divert public attention from structural crises. “A democracy cannot function on the basis of exclusion and discrimination. Anti-LGBT+ rhetoric fuels societal polarisation and erodes the foundations of equal citizenship,” she warned.
Reflecting on the 2013-2015 peace process, Keskin emphasised the necessity of legal safeguards for individuals engaged in reconciliation efforts. “The previous peace process collapsed without institutional protections for its facilitators, many of whom now face retrospective criminal charges. A credible peace process requires formalised legal guarantees to prevent similar reprisals,” she noted.
Keskin linked the financial burden of Turkey’s military operations to broader socio-economic instability, contending that a reconciliation process would enable the reallocation of state resources. “The economic cost of perpetual conflict is unsustainable. Reconciliation would permit a redirection of state funds from military expenditure towards social welfare, education, and public infrastructure,” she stated.
Eren Keskin is one of Turkey’s most prominent human rights defenders and a leading advocate for political prisoners, women’s rights, and freedom of expression. She has been a target of state repression for decades due to her legal and advocacy work, facing multiple criminal cases for her activism. As co-chair of the Human Rights Association (İHD), she has documented extensive state-perpetrated human rights violations and has been a vocal critic of Turkey’s policies towards the Kurdish population. Keskin has received numerous international awards for her work, including recognition from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
With renewed debates surrounding Öcalan’s 27 February call for peace, Keskin insisted that the state must take decisive, verifiable steps towards democratic transition. “We are at a pivotal juncture. The state must demonstrate its commitment to reconciliation through substantive policy changes, not symbolic overtures. The international community is observing closely,” she concluded.
