The Solidarity Network Germany for the campaign ‘Freedom for Öcalan - a political solution to the Kurdish question’ sent a letter to the president of the CPT, Mitchell, demanding him to promote a delegation to Imrali to verify the condition of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The letter said: "As members of a group of representatives of various non-governmental organisations, trade unions, political parties, peace and human rights organisations, activists, academics, professors, lawyers and journalists, we would like to hereby make an urgent call on you.

For 38 months, Abdullah Öcalan, who is regarded by millions of Kurds as their legitimate political representative, has been held by the Turkish state in an extreme form of solitary confinement on the prison island of Imrali. Turkey has made Mr Öcalan ‘disappear’ by way of his inhumane isolation – as if he no longer existed – which is contrary to human rights."

The letter continued: "He has been denied any contact with the outside world, including his lawyers and his family, for over three years now. Throughout this period, Turkey has attempted to literally turn the island of Imrali into a ‘floating coffin’. Mr Öcalan, who is now 75 years old, has been subjected to isolation torture for 25 years, with no information about his health reaching the public in the last three years. At present, not even his whereabouts can be confirmed. Yet, his state of health is a matter of great concern for many Kurds.

We would therefore like to ask you, the CPT, to take action. As the CPT, you have the right and the responsibility to visit all detention centres of the states that have signed the Convention, including Turkey. This gives you the opportunity to send a team of experts to Imrali, where the Turkish government is obliged to grant you unrestricted access. You have the opportunity to visit the prison where Mr Öcalan is detained and you must be allowed to meet him in person so that he can communicate freely with you."

The letter added: "We would like to ask you, the CPT, to act in accordance with Article 3 of the Statute of the Council of Europe, which states: ‘Every member of the Council of Europe must accept the principles of the rule of law and of the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and collaborate sincerely and effectively in the realisation of the aim of the Council as specified in Chapter I.’ Mr Öcalan is a citizen of a Council of Europe member state that has denied him his human rights for two and a half decades and that has also denied him the right to meet his lawyers and communicate with his family for three years.

We urge you to send a delegation to Imrali immediately to speak to Mr Öcalan and find out more about his welfare. It would be highly desirable if you could urge Turkey to finally grant Mr Öcalan the fundamental right to meet his family and lawyers. Such action is crucial to ensure that Turkey fully honours its obligations as a member of the Council of Europe. This would help resolve a pressing human rights issue and address the concerns of millions of Kurds. It could also revitalise the spirit of reconciliation that is necessary for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey."

The letter was signed by: 

1. Prof Dr Alex Demirovic, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
2. Andrej Hunko, Member of the Bundestag, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance
3. Anja Flach, Anja Flach, Ethnologist and author
4. Anja Popp, Lawyer
5. Anja Sommerfeld, Member of the Federal Board of Rote Hilfe e.V.                                                   
6. Anna Magdalena Busl, Lawyer                              
7. Barbara Majd Amin, Spokesperson for the groups of Peace Coordination Berlin
8. Cansu Özdemir, Parliamentary group DIE LINKE Hamburg
9. Carolin Kaufmann, Lawyer
10. Prof Dr Cengiz Barskanmaz, Fulda University of Applied Sciences
11. Christa Blum, Doctor, Member of the medical peace organisation IPPNW
12. Prof Dr Christine Graebsch, Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts
13. Christine Lüth, Lawyer
14. Dr Christoph Dembowski, Member of the medical peace organisation IPPNW
15. Christoph Klug, Qualified psychologist
16. Prof Dr Daniel Bendix, Friedensau Adventist University of Theology
17. Dr Dr Dario Azzellini, Political scientist and sociologist
18. Dieter Kaltenhäuser, Alliance for Justice between Israelis and Palestinians
19. Elisabeth Kaltenhäuser, Alliance for Justice between Israelis and Palestinians
20. Erika Wieland, Psychological psychotherapist
21. Erkan Pehlivan, Journalist
22. Ernst Ludwid Iskenius, Doctor, member of the medical peace organisation IPPNW
23. Fabian Scheidler, Publicist
24. Prof Dr Frank Deppe, Political scientist
25. Prof Dr Frieder Otto Wolf, Freie Universität of Berlin
26. Friedrich Roeingh, Journalist
27. Friedrich Vetter, Retired pastor
28. Gabi Zimmer, Former Member of the European Parliament, Die LINKE
29. Gerd Schumann, Author
30. Gerhard Baisch, Lawyer
31. Prof. a.D. Dr Gerhard Trabert, Association Poverty and Health in Germany e.V.
32. Dr med. Gisela Penteker, Member of the medical peace organisation IPPNW
33. Gökay Akbulut, Member of the Bundestag, Die Linke 
34. Prof Dr Gregor Büchel, Cologne University of Applied Sciences
35. Dr Gregor Gysi, Member of the Bundestag, Die Linke 
36. Gudrun Weckmann-Lautsch, Lawyer
37. Harald Klinke, Lawyer
38. Hartmut Plötz, Economist
39. Dr Helmuth Markov, Former Member of Parliament/ State Minister
40. Holdger Platta, Humanist Union
41. Isaac Gonzales, Chairman of Wir sind da e.V.
42. Joachim Schaller, Lawyer 
43. Johannes Patett, Lawyer
44. Jörq Heuer, Cultural worker, activist
45. Dr Judith Dellheim, Economist 
46. Jutta Kausch-Henken, Spokesperson for the groups of Peace Coordination Berlin
47. Prof Dr Karin Kulow, Middle East scholar and conflict researcher
48. Kerem Schamberger, Communication scientist and author 
49. Konstantin Wecker, Singer-songwriter, author and composer
50. Laura Freiin von Wimmerserg, Moderator of the Berlin Peace Coordination Centre
51. Prof Dr Lothar Zechlin, University of Duisburg-Essen       
52. Dr Lukas Theune, Lawyer, managing director of the Republikanischer Anwältinnen- und Anwälteverein e.V. (RAV)
53. Marion Böker, Director/Founder, Counselling for Human Rights & Gender Issues
54. Marit Vahjen, Member of the IPPNW Human Rights Group Turkey  
55. Markus Lautenschlager, Pastor
56. Matthias Jochheim, Member of the Medical Peace Organisation IPPNW
57. Prof Dr Michael Brie, Philosopher and social scientist
58. Michael Bouteiller, Former Mayor of Lübeck
59. Dr Michael Wilk, Emergency physician, psychotherapist 
60. Milan Martín, Lawyer
61. Miriam Frieding, Lawyer
62. Prof Dr Mohssen Massarrat, Political scientist and peace researcher
63. Monty Schädel, Former political director of the German Peace Society - United Opponents of Military Service (DFG-VK)
64. Dr Muriel Gonzalez Athenas, Historian, University of Innsbruck
65. Dr Nikolaus Brauns, Historian and journalist
66. Nina Treu, Political scientist and freelance author
67. Prof. em. Dr Norman Paech, University of Hamburg
68. Prof. Dr habil. Peter Herrman, Researcher at the Human Rights Centre, Faculty of Law, Central South University, Changsha, PR China
69. Prof Peter Ott, Merz Academy Stuttgart
70. Dr phil. Dr rer. med. Peter Ullrich, Senior Researcher, Technical University of Berlin
71. Peter Vonnahme, Retired judge at the Bavarian Administrative Court
72. Phil Butland, Senior Editor, theleftberlin.com
73. Dr Philipp Zehmisch, University of Heidelberg
74. Dr Rainer Werning, Ppolitical scientist & publicist
75. Reinhard Hauff, Pastor
76. Rita Belter, Lawyer
77. Roland Meister, Lawyer
78. Dr Rolf Gössner, Lawyer/publicist, member of the board of trustees of the International League for Human Rights
79. Prof Dr Rudi Schmidt, University of Jena             
80. Rudolf Bürgel, Executive Committee of the Left Party Baden-Württemberg
81. Dr Stefan Meretz, Member of the Commons Institute
82. Stephan Kuhn, Lawyer
83. Susanne Ferschl, Member of the Left Party in the Bundestag
84. Thomas Kilpper, Artist, Berlin and Professor Art University in Bergen
85. Tim Engels, Lawyer
86. Dr Torsten Bewernitz, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, ‘express’ editorial team 
87. Prof Dr Udo Mayer, University of Hamburg
88. Prof. Dr Ulrich Gottstein, Honorary board member of the medical peace organisation IPPNW
89. Ulrich Tilgner, Retired journalist and non-fiction author 
90. Prof Dr em. Urs Marti-Brander, University of Zurich
91. Ute Wellstein, Specialist in occupational medicine, member of the medical peace organisation IPPNW
92. Uwe Friesel, author
93. Prof Dr Werner Ruf, Political scientist and peace researcher
94. Dr jur. Wolfgang Bittner, Author and publicist
95. Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Wolfgang-Fritz Haug, Berlin Institute for Critical Theory
96. Ute Wellstein, specialist in occupational medicine, member of the medical peace organization IPPNW
97. Uwe Friesel, writer
98. Prof. Dr. Werner Ruf, political scientist and peace researcher
99. Dr. jur. Wolfgang Bittner, writer and publicist
100.  Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Wolfgang-Fritz Haug, Berlin Institute for Critical Theory