Members and Patrons of Peace in Kurdistan (PIK) penned a letter to Xavier Bettel, Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, drawing attention to the detention conditions and the role of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in solitary confinement in the İmralı Island Prison in Turkey.

In the letter, 66 academics, parliamentarians, lawyers, writers, human rights activists, business people, anti-war activists, trade unionists and members of the House of Lords from the UK and other countries around the world have called on the Committee of Ministers to take action for the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan for a peaceful political solution of the Kurdish question.

Highlighting the importance of the freedom of the Kurdish leader, who has recently expressed his willingness for a peaceful solution despite the unequal conditions, the letter reads as follows:

“February 15, 2025 will be the 26th anniversary of the abduction of the Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan. Since then, he has been held on the Turkish prison island of Imrali. Visits by his family and lawyers have been entirely at the political whim of the Turkish governments.

In 2014, the ECHR ruled that Mr. Öcalan’s aggravated life sentence, which excludes the possibility of parole, breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The court recommended that Turkey amend its laws to guarantee that prisoners are made aware of the potential for eventual release—known as the Right to Hope.

At the meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers from 17-19 September, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers once again pressed Turkey to take immediate steps towards compliance with the ECHR 2014 rule. The committee warned it would consider drafting an interim resolution if no progress was made by 20 September.

Since October 10, 2023, millions of people in Kurdistan and around the world have participated in the “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan - A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” campaign to draw attention to Mr. Öcalan’s plight and draw the world’s attention to the path to peace. The political importance of Mr. Öcalan for the Turkish-Kurdish conflict cannot be overstated, and a resolution of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, which has now spilled beyond Turkey’s borders as the Turkish military attacks, invades, and occupies areas in northern Syria and northern Iraq, could also bring peace to the Middle East.

Along with 69 Nobel laureates, 1,500 lawyers worldwide, together with people from various backgrounds: unions, social movements, political parties, elected officials, artists, intellectuals, activists, and millions of Kurds and their supporters have also appealed to the CoE and the President of the Republic of Turkey to end the solitary confinement of Mr. Öcalan and release him. Additionally, numerous international networks have been founded to work for his release, and their efforts continue to this day.

The fact that political delegations of the DEM party (The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party) are now selectively receiving permission to visit Mr. Öcalan in confinement due to pressure from the CoE and global political and civil society organizations may be a positive development. However, Mr. Öcalan is still a political prisoner held in violation of various laws and human rights conventions. The ongoing situation demonstrates how little the Turkish leadership and government believe in peace, with Nelson Mandela's statement that “only a free man can negotiate” ringing true. It is now time for the ministerial committee, in light of recent developments, to take a proactive stance towards a final resolution to this issue. Mr. Öcalan has expressed his willingness for a peaceful solution despite the unequal conditions. Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan must be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family and, ultimately, be freed under conditions that allow him to play a role in finding a just and democratic political solution to Turkey’s decades-old Kurdish conflict.

It is now up to the Committee of Ministers to take concrete legal, diplomatic and political steps towards the release of Mr. Öcalan for a peaceful political solution of the Kurdish question.

With gratitude for your time and hope that you receive this as a heartfelt plea.”

Signed by Members and Patrons of Peace in Kurdistan:

John Austin former MP

Mike Arnott, President Scottish Trade UNION Committee (STUC)

Christine Blower of Starch Green, House of Lords, former GS NUT

Prof Bill Bowring Birkbeck College, University of London, Haldane Society of Socialist lawyers

Jonathan Bloch, writer and businessman

Mickey Brady, Sinn Féin MP

Noam Chomsky

Maggie Cook, UNISON women activist

Prof Mary Davis, Visiting Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London and writer

Lord Dholakia OBE DL, House of Lords UK

Liz Davies KC barrister, author, activist

Penelope Dimond, actor and writer

Simon Dubbins, UNITE International Director

Dr Radha D’Souza, writer, Professor of International Law, Development and Conflict Studies, University of Westminster

Desmond Fernandes, writer

Russell Fraser, barrister, Garden Court Chambers, London

Lindsey German, Convenor Stop the War Coalition (STWC)

Prof Dr. Michael Gunter, Secretary-General, EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC)

Dr Arsalan Ghani, Researcher, International Manufacturing, Department of Engineering (IFM) Cambridge University

Rahila Gupta, author, journalist

Chris Hazzard, Sinn Fein MP

Nick Hildyard, policy advisor, writer

Dafydd Iwan, Former President Plaid Cymru

George Katsiaficas, Greek-American historian and author

Ögmundur Jónasson, Icelandic trade unionist and politician

James Kelman, novelist, Booker Prize Winner, Scotland

Baroness Helena Kennedy KC House of Lords

Jean Lambert, former MEP

Dr Jennifer Langer Director, Exiled Writers Inc

Alexandra Lort Phillips, Producer, Yard Heads Ltd

Nasrin Parvaz, Iranian poet, author

Dr Les Levidow, Open University UK and political activist

Gawain Little, GFTU General Secretary

Elfyn Llwyd Welsh barrister and politician

John McDonnell MP

Chris Law, SNP MP for Dundee West, Scotland

Alastair Lyon, solicitor Bernberg Pierce Solicitors

Mike Mansfield KC barrister

David Morgan, journalist and writer and Socialist History Society

Conor Murphy, Sinn Fein MLA

Dr Thomas Jeffrey Miley, lecturer in sociology at Cambridge University

Dr. Jessica Ayesha Northey, Assistant professor of Research, Coventry University

Richard Norton-Taylor, Defence and security analyst

Kate Osamor MP

Margaret Owen OBE Founder and director of Widows for Peace through rons Democracy

Ali Gul Ozbek, Former Councillor and Mayor of Haringey, London

Gareth Peirce, solicitor, BirnbergPierceSolicitors

Dr Felix Padel, anthropologist, author

Maxine Peake, actor, writer, activist

Dr Thomas Phillips, Liverpool John Moores University

Mahmoud Patel, Chairperson of the Kurdish Human Rights Action Group in South Africa (KHRAG) SA, legal scholar and academic

Louise Regan, National Executive Officer of National Education Union (NEU)

Dr Thomas Schmidt, ELDH Europe

Bert Schouwenburg, International Trade Union Adviser

Roza Salih, Scottish politician

Tony Simpson, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation

Stephen Smellie, UNISON, Scottish Trade UNION officer; Peace in Kurdistan Trade Union Liaison Officer

Jonathan Steele, journalist

Chris Stephens SNP MP Scotland

Gianni Tognoni, General Secretary Permanent People’s Tribunal, Italy

Dr Federico Venturini, Associate Researcher, University of Udine, Italy

Dr Tom Wakeford Reader in Public Science, Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University

Dr Derek Wall, Goldsmith Smith College, University of London and author

Julie Ward, former MEP

Frances Webber, writer and former Vice-Chair of the Institute of Race Relations and barrister

Hywel Williams MP, Welsh politician.