No news has been received from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prisoners Hamili Yıldırım, Veysi Aktaş and Ömer Hayri Konar in Imrali Type F High Security Closed Prison for 43 months. Abdullah Öcalan last met face to face with his lawyers on August 7, 2019 and with his family on March 3, 2021. Abdullah Öcalan's last phone call was with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 25, 2021, which was interrupted. There has been no news about Abdullah Öcalan and 3 other prisoners since then. 

 

600 APPLICATIONS INCONCLUSIVE 

 

The situation in İmralı is described as “incommunicado” in international legal literature. The applications made by lawyers and families against this situation continue. Every week, lawyers from Asrin Law Firm and families make new applications to both the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the İmralı Prison Directorate requesting a meeting. Since March 25, 2021, the date of the last contact with Abdullah Öcalan, a total of 600 applications have been made to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison, 414 by lawyers and 186 by families. However, all these applications were either left unanswered or rejected on the grounds of “disciplinary penalties” without specifying the reason.

 

'LONG MARCH' IN EUROPE 

 

Kurdistan and internationalist youth in European cities launched a “Long March” this month as part of the campaign for “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, democratic solution to the Kurdish issue”. The march started on August 31 in Lausanne, Switzerland and ended in front of the United Nations (UN) building in Geneva. Between September 15-20, the march was organized from Bielefeld to Duisburg in Germany. The marches drew attention to the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and demanded his physical freedom.

 

BIG RALLY TO BE HELD ON OCTOBER 13 

 

A group of intellectuals, writers and human rights defenders from Kurdistan and Turkey announced the “Justice Against Isolation Initiative” in Amed (Diyarbakır) on September 5. The initiative stated in its statement that it aims to come together with all segments against isolation. The Platform of Democratic Institutions declared on September 12 in Amed and Istanbul that they are taking the campaign for “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, democratic solution to the Kurdish issue” to a new stage. In this context, the Platform announced that a big rally will be organized in Amed on October 13 with the slogan “We resist against the conspiracy, we meet in Amed for freedom”. 

 

INITIATIVES OF NOBEL LAUREATES 

 

In August, 69 Nobel laureates sent letters to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoM), the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the UN Human Rights Committee. The ECtHR, the CoE and the CPT responded to the letter.  The letter on behalf of the ECtHR thanked the Nobel laureates for bringing the issue of Abdullah Öcalan's detention conditions to their attention. The letter on behalf of the CoE stated that the issue of Abdullah Öcalan's conditions of detention will be examined at the 1507th meeting of the Committee of Ministers. In its reply, the CPT stated that the CPT closely monitors the situation of persons held in İmralı and referred to the CPT's visit to İmralı in September 2022.

 

CALL TO THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

 

More than 1,500 international lawyers and legal institutions sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice for Abdullah Öcalan. In the letter, it was emphasized that Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş, who are being held in İmralı Prison, were prevented from meeting with their lawyers in violation of the law. The lawyers requested to visit İmralı Prison.

 

MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE DISCUSSES 'RIGHT TO HOPE'

 

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) revisited the ECtHR's 2014 ruling on the “violation” of Abdullah Öcalan's sentence of life imprisonment without the right to conditional release (the right to hope) after 3 years. The Committee discussed the “violation” decision at its meeting held between September 17-19. In the decision announced under the name “Gurban group/Turkey”, the Committee asked Turkey to take the necessary measures without delay. The Committee warned that if no steps were taken, an interim resolution would be prepared at the meeting in September 2025.

 

MA / İbrahim Irmak