Three new applications to visit Öcalan

Three new applications to visit Öcalan and the other three prisoners in Imrali have been filed by lawyers, families and guardian.

Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers, Faik Özgür Erol, Rezan Sarıca, Cengiz Yürekli and Serbay Köklü, have applied once again to Bursa Chief Prosecutor's Office demanding to visit their client in Imrali. 

Similar applications have been made by families of the Kurdish people's leader and the other three prisoners in Imrali as well as by Öcalan's guardian, Mazlum Dinç.

All applications for visit have been so far rejected or gone unanswered.

Lawyers reminded that the only communication that could be established with Öcalan after the family visit made on 3 March 2020 was the phone call he had with his brother on 27 April 2020. No other communication was allowed, said the lawyers adding: "All our applications were either rejected for unlawful reasons or went unanswered."

The lawyers also reminded that Öcalan is in the group of people at risk of Covid-19, due to his age and also to the conditions in which he is held in prison.

Urgent visit requested

The application included the following remarks: “Serious allegations about the health and life of our client were spread on internet news sites and social media  on 14.03.2021. It is a fact that the conditions of isolation allow such news to appear. However, in order to eliminate the great and serious anxiety that this claims have generated both in us and the family, we need to meet with our client in person. In this sense, we request that the conditions for a visit by the family and lawyers with our client be met as soon as possible, and that this visit request, which we want to be evaluated urgently, be accepted."