The Swiss Federal Council has responded to the motion presented to it on 15 March, 2024 raising concerns about the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and other political prisoners on the Island of Imrali, and appealing to Switzerland’s responsibility in this regard. The motion was tabled by Laurence Fehlmann Rielle, deputy of the Swiss Federal Parliament, with the joint signature of twelve parliamentarians.
The motion placed emphasis on Öcalan’s key role in the peace negotiations between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state from 2013, that were curtailed by Turkey in 2015. It also highlighted the hungerstrike started by Kurdish prisoners in Turkish prisons on 27 November 2024 in protest against the solitary confinement of Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali Prison.
Despite efforts by numerous human rights organisations, access to Imrali Prison has been consistently denied by the Turkish authorities, underlining the gravity of the situation and the urgent need for international intervention. While the CPT has visited Imrali in the past, the motion says that the reason the prison was not included in its most recent visit to Turkish prisons in February 2024 was “due to Turkey’s opposition”.
In its response, the Swiss Foreign Ministry argued that Switzerland aims to improve detention conditions worldwide as part of its obligation to prevent torture. It is also noted that according to the case law of international human rights organisations, isolation is considered to be inhuman and degrading treatment of human dignity and even torture.
Furthermore, Turkey is reminded of the “obligation of the member states of the Council of Europe to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)” and “Turkey’s international obligations to respect human rights and the rule of law.”
The Swiss Foreign Ministry makes clear that they support the work of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and appeal to Turkey to publish its reports and implement its recommendations.
In response to the question of whether the hunger strike and solitary confinement in Turkish prisons are addressed in diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Turkey, it was only stated that Switzerland also “addresses human rights and the rule of law in its existing dialogue with Turkey.”
The statement also adds that “As part of the general periodic review of Turkey by the UN Human Rights Council on 28 January 2020, Switzerland formulated a recommendation on combating torture and monitoring places of detention.”
