Catalan CUP expresses concern about Öcalan’s health after social media news

The Catalan CUP issued a press release on the rumours surrounding Öcalan's poor health state.

The Catalan CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) has issued a press release on the rumours spread on social media about the poor health of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The CUP expressed concern and called for an end to the repression and persecution of dissent in Turkey. It also called to make information about the state of health of Öcalan available and to end isolation.

The statement reads as follows:

"Worrying news have emerged in recent days about the health condition of Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned in solitary confinement in Turkey since 1999. His lawyers have been denied visits for years, and this has become evident following the news about his health spread. Lawyers should be guaranteed the right to defense, a fundamental right.

Once again, the Erdogan government attacks the Kurdish people through isolation and denial of the Kurdish leader's right to defense and, furthermore, denies access to information about his state of health. This comes as the Turkish state continues to persecute, imprison and kill the Kurdish population in Turkey, while attacking Rojava and the North East of Syria.

The CUP wants to show once again its support for the resistance and the struggle of the Kurdish people. We express our concern for the situation of the Kurdish people and specifically Abdullah Öcalan. It is essential to demand that the Erdogan government end the repression and persecution of the dissent and the Kurdish movement. Likewise, the government should provide all information about Öcalan's state of health and end his isolation, which is a inhumane treatment and degrading torture.

Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and long live the struggle of the Kurdish people."