ISTANBUL - Visiting the Asrın Law Office and receiving information about the isolation, the members of the International Peace Delegation to Imrali said: "The Kurdish problem could be solved once PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan regained his physical freedom."

 

The International Imrali Peace Delegation of 3 people from 3 different countries came to Turkey to oppose the isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in aggravated isolation for 24 years in İmralı Type F High Security Prison and has not been heard from for more than 2 years. Denis O'Hearn, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Vice-President of the Left Group of the Council of Europe and Laura Castel, a representative of the Parliamentary Council of the Council of Europe and a member of the Monitoring Committee, and Ögmundur Jonasson, former Minister of Justice and Home Affairs of Iceland, took part in the delegation. The delegation will hold talks with politicians, non-governmental and legal organizations in Istanbul between May 11-12. The delegation made its first visit to Asrın Law Office, where Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers are located.

 

The delegation was welcomed by lawyers Raziye Öztürk, Emran Emekçi, İbrahim Bilmez and Rezan Sarıca.

 

'LAW HAS BEEN SHELVED'

 

Speaking first at the meeting, lawyer İbrahim Bilmez started his speech by saying, "Mr. Abdullah Öcalan is not an ordinary person". Referring to the isolation of Imrali, Bilmez said: “This situation concerns the people. It is in an isolation like no other in the world. The law in Turkey has already been shelved. When it comes to Kurds, Abdullah Öcalan and the dissidents, the law is shelved.”

 

'THE SOLUTION IS THE PHYSICAL FREEDOM OF ABDULLAH ÖCALAN'

 

Delegation member Laura Castel said that the solution to the Kurdish problem could only be achieved through the physical liberation of Abdullah Öcalan and then the negotiations on the solution of the problem, so the lawyers stated that if Abdullah Öcalan is released and the Kurdish question is resolved, many problems in the Middle East and the world can evolve towards a solution.