Abdullah Öcalan has been held incommunicado on the prison island of Imrali for almost 24 years. Since March 2021, the Kurdish leader has been in total isolation, which means that no sign of life has reached the outside world. His lawyers have warned that it is not even known whether Öcalan is still on the prison island. To protest against the isolation of the Kurdish leader, a delegation consisting of Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Chair Berdan Öztürk and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies Ömer Öcalan, Feleknas Uca, Dilan Dirayet Taşdemir, Şevin Coşkun, Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Sezai Temelli, Abdullah Koç, Nuran İmir, Hüseyin Kaçmaz and Erdal Aydemir marched to the Justice Ministry in Ankara on Wednesday.

The delegation was stopped by the police near the Ministry of Justice. During the protest, the politicians carried banners reading "Isolation is a crime against humanity", "The law must be applied to Imrali" and "Let lawyers go to Imrali".

SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT ÖCALAN'S SITUATION

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, DTK Co-Chair Berdan Öztürk said that the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan was getting worse by the day: "There has been no sign of life from him for almost two years. A delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was in Turkey a few months ago but did not issue a statement on the situation in Imrali. However, there is a statement from the Asrin Law Office saying that Mr. Öcalan did not meet with the CPT delegation. This has caused great concern among the population for the health and life of Mr Öcalan. In this way, national law and international law are being trampled upon. We call on the democratic forces and especially our people to take action against isolation, which has reached a critical stage, and to protest against it with words and deeds."

"ISOLATION IS TORTURE AND HAS REACHED A CRITICAL STAGE"

"Whenever the voice of Mr. Öcalan was heard, hope for social peace and the future of Turkey grew," Öztürk said, pointing to the key role of the Kurdish leader. "The AKP/MHP government, with its policy of isolation, is pursuing the inhuman goal of making Mr. Öcalan be forgotten. Everyone must raise their voice against this. The isolation has reached a critical stage. We all know what Mr. Öcalan means for our people and for the peoples of the Middle East from his behaviour so far. When he had the opportunity, he was the voice of social peace. Isolation has no basis in law, in the constitution or in the international conventions to which Turkey is bound. Isolation is torture. The fact that there has been no contact with Mr. Öcalan for almost two years, that there has been no communication whatsoever and that absolute isolation has been imposed is both torture and a crime against humanity. It is the government's duty to ensure that Mr. Öcalan can meet with his lawyers without delay. From now on, the law must also be applied to Mr. Öcalan. As MPs, we do not accept this practice of isolation. We will not tolerate it any longer."

PROTEST CONTINUES

Öztürk stressed that the MPs would remain in front of the Ministry of Justice until Abdullah Öcalan is allowed to meet with his lawyers: "The isolation should not be used for day-to-day politics. For us, the handling of Imrali is in line with the attitude towards democracy, justice and human dignity. These approaches will be used in all political decisions we will take from now on. We will not rely on the explanations, diversions and manipulative speeches that have taken place so far regarding isolation. Concrete steps must be taken. The protests will continue until we get results. Isolation means death, means disrespect."

Following the statement, the MPs launched a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Justice.

BACKGROUND

Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan has been kept in isolation in Imrali since 1999. There has been no news from him for the last two years.

Lawyers are requesting to meet with the Kurdish people's leader twice a week. However, applications for interviews are systematically left unanswered. In some cases, months later, lawyers are presented with disciplinary action against their client as a justification for the rejection of their applications.

Recently, it was learned that after the ban on visits imposed on 13 April ended on 18 October. However, it was automatically extended for another six months.

Concerns over the situation of the Kurdish people's leader increased after the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited Turkey on September 20-29. In a statement on 3 October, the CPT announced that Imralı F Type High Security Prison was among the institutions it visited.

However, Asrın Law Office reported that during the CPT visit, they heard that there was no meeting with Abdullah Öcalan, and that this situation increased their concerns. Asrın Law Office made a statement on 29 November saying: "We have heard that Mr. Öcalan did not attend the meeting during the CPT's visit to Imralı Island in September 2022."