Lawyer Cemal Demir said that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan is the 'public symbol' of the Kurdish people and said that the Turkish state tried to reverse this reality by imposing isolation.

There has been no news about Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan for 38 months. The 538 requests for a visit made in these months went unanswered or dismissed.

Lawyer Cemal Demir told ANF that an unprecedented isolation has been implemented and that Öcalan has been deprived of the right to see his family and lawyers since the date he was taken to Imralı Island.

Demir said: "Similarly, communication, correspondence and other rights have been constantly violated. These rights have never been fulfilled regularly and in accordance with the law. In the first years, reasons such as 'bad weather and problems with the boat' were used, but later on 'disciplinary penalties' became the most used excuse. In these last years, there has no longer been even a need to provide any justification."

Lawyer Demir said that the Kurdish people have indicated Abdullah Öcalan as the political interlocutor in the democratic solution to the Kurdish question and added: "Millions of Kurds have declared Öcalan to the world as their political will. He has become the 'public symbol' of the Kurdish people. The Turkish state has tried to change this reality, trampling on universal law and condemning him to inhuman isolation. The Turkish government has completely eliminated his connection with the outside world. On the other hand, the Turkish state has focused entirely on war and destruction, leaving aside the search for a democratic, peaceful political solution to the Kurdish question. It also threatens world peace by spreading war and occupation in the Middle East and four parts of Kurdistan."

A free environment should be provided

Demir said: "The historical process has once again demonstrated that a democratic solution to the Kurdish question is inevitable. This question is the duty of all nations and the world system. The injustice committed 100 years ago must be eliminated. The interlocutor for resolving this question is Mr. Öcalan, as he represents the Kurdish people. For this reason, it is inevitable to eliminate the isolation conditions and provide a free environment. Therefore, actions against isolation are of great importance."