The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) has released its findings on Turkey, highlighting serious concerns over the isolation of prisoners in İmralı Prison, including the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. The report, issued on Friday 26 July, following the Committee’s 80th session in Geneva, which began on 8 July, called for an immediate end to the communication ban between prisoners and their families and lawyers.
The Committee has urged Turkey to lift the absolute isolation imposed on prisoners in İmralı Prison, which includes over 22 hours of daily solitary confinement and lack of contact with legal representatives since March 2021.
The report expressed alarm at the lack of access to legal counsel for detainees, who can be restricted from seeing a lawyer for up to 24 hours after detention. “We are concerned that suspects are sometimes questioned without their lawyers present, and that lawyer-client confidentiality is not guaranteed,” it stated. The committee also noted that in some cases, lawyers are prevented from accessing their clients’ entire case files, and disciplinary measures effectively ban prisoners in İmralı from contacting their lawyers indefinitely.
They recommended that Turkey consider abolishing aggravated life imprisonment and improve detainees’ access to legal counsel and family visits. The committee also highlighted the deteriorating independence of the judiciary and legal professions since the 2016 coup attempt, calling for reforms to ensure impartiality and effectiveness.
The CAT highlighted the dire conditions of approximately 4,000 inmates serving life sentences without the possibility of parole in Turkey, pointing to severe restrictions on social contact and visits. “We are particularly concerned about Abdullah Öcalan, Hamili Yıldırım, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş, who have been held in isolation since 25 March 2021 and some have not seen their lawyers for over nine years,” the report added.
The report called for Turkey to facilitate contact between İmralı prisoners and their families and legal representatives. It also requested that Turkey report back by 26 July 2025 on the measures taken to address these violations and to inform the committee about efforts to implement other recommendations, including the abolition of aggravated life imprisonment and the protection of victims of gender-based violence.
Turkey’s compliance with the European anti-torture convention was reviewed on 17-18 July, days 10 and 11 of UNCAT’s 80th session.
Turkish officials did not answer questions about the “disciplinary penalties” justifying the isolation at İmralı Prison at the session, instead claiming that the isolation was a result of unspecified recent disciplinary actions, and UNCAT asked for more detailed written responses later, said lawyer Rengin Ergül from the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD). She emphasised the importance of addressing the absolute isolation and stressed that under the Nelson Mandela Rules, continuous isolation and the restriction of family visits as punishment is prohibited. She also highlighted that Turkey’s actions violate both national laws and international conventions, and urged continued monitoring and advocacy for legal compliance and human rights.
There was some controversy surrounding the Turkish delegation. Kıvılcım Kılıç, head of the delegation and Director General for Multilateral Relations in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, is alleged to have been involved in the kidnapping and torture of Turkish teachers in Kosovo in 2018. Meanwhile, Rüştü Yılmaz, Chief Legal Advisor for the General Directorate of Security, is accused of forming torture teams against civilians in Kurdish-majority Şanlıurfa (Riha) from 2015 to 2021, enabling ISIS terror attacks, and also of participating in war crimes in Syria.
Reports from various NGOs detailed human rights abuses in Turkish prisons and occupied regions, and stressed the urgency for Turkey to address these violations.
