İSTANBUL - Making a statement on the İmralı Island regarding the fire, Asrın Law Office called on to the Ministry and the government officials to ensure contact with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

The statement Asrın Law Office made from their twitter account is as follows: "On 27.02.2020, the Minister of Interrior shared the information that a fire broke out in İmralı Island on a live TV broadcast. As it is known, İmralı Island was designed as a one-person prison area for our client, Mr. Öcalan in 1999, and then in 2015, our other clients Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş have been transferred there. Our clients are kept on the island, which is under the scope of the military forbidden zone, outside the legal regulations, and it is an inevitable reality that Mr. Öcalan and our other clients with him will be directly affected by this fire. In such a situation, the existence of instant intervention conditions is controversial and causes concern and hesitation.

 

After the family visit on August 12, 2019, we were prevented from contacting our clients on Imrali Island. Unfortunately, we do not have any information regarding the health and life safety of our clients. In order to control the conditions of detention on site, it is imperative that the lawyer and family visit to be granted immediately as it is our right and we have applied to the authorized prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Justice.

 

Absolute isolation imposed on our clients on İmralı Island constitutes a crime. Taking a stand against it is primarily a moral and humanitarian attitude and is within the scope of democratic legal rights. We believe that the public will demonstrate necessary emphaty and we invite those authorized to fulfill their responsibilities."