A landmark European Parliament conference, hosted by the European Union Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) on Friday, is set to spotlight the critical situation of political prisoners in Turkey, with a particular focus on imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The Brussels event, ‘Political Prisoners in Turkey: Where Goes the Path of Freedom and Peace’, has garnered support from an impressive roster of patrons including Italian MEP Guliano Pisapia of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador Bianca Jagger, renowned linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky, and Leyla Zana, a Kurdish recipient of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
EUTCC Chair Kariane Westrheim, from the University of Bergen, Norway, will set the stage as she takes a close look at the reality of prison conditions within Turkey, specifically Imralı Island prison, which was designed, in 1999, to hold Öcalan, and is seen as a prototype for the nationwide incarceration policy.
Legal and political implications of the policy of isolation imposed on prisoners will be addressed by lawyer Rezan Sarıca, from Asrın Law Office in Turkey, and Ögmundur Jónasson, Former Icelandic Minister of Justice.
Placing the prison crisis within the wider political and social context in Turkey, speakers will turn to the Kurdish question as a whole, highlighting the prevalent incarceration of minority groups.
Dr Thomas Phillips, a Professor of Law from Liverpool John Moores University, UK, will lead discussions on the need for a political solution to the Kurdish issue, with an emphasis on the role of women and the international arena.
Delegates of the EUTCC, alongside esteemed guests and patrons, will frame actionable steps towards achieving the rights and freedoms of political prisoners in Turkey, to foster broader international dialogue, and raise awareness of one of Turkey’s most pressing human rights issues.
The conference boasts interpretation in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Kurdish.