ISTANBUL - MA TUHAY-DER Co-chairperson Dilek Sönmez Demir emphasized that the violations of rights in prisons are the reflections of the Imrali isolation and stressed that the isolation can end with a struggle together.

 

There has been no news for 27 months from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in aggravated isolation in İmralı Type F Prison for 24 years. His family and lawyers are prevented from meeting with Abdullah Öcalan on the grounds of "disciplinary" punishments that are systematically given every 3 months. The heavy isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan has turned into a state of not being heard at the current stage. While the isolation system is being aggravated on Imrali Island, this situation is reflected as a violation of rights in Kurdistan and Turkey prisons. Dilek Sönmez Demir, co-chairperson of Marmara Association for Helping the Families of Prisoners and Convicts (MA TUHAY-DER), evaluated the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and its reflections on the prisons.

 

RESISTANCE OF THE PRISONERS

 

Pointing out that there has been an increase in violations of rights in prisons, Demir said: "All attempts against this were wanted to be suppressed by the government. The prisoners are trying to isolate them from society with their isolation practices. The prisoners increase the resistance against this. As the resistance in prisons grows, the dose of torture also increases because the prisoners continue their resistance despite everything. We are aware of the fact that none of the prisoners did allegiance and their resistance.”

 

WHO IS THE CIRCULAR ISSUED FOR?

 

Referring to the Ministry of Justice's circular on ill prisoners, Demir said: "This was just a circular that came to favor the government. Of course, we knew that this circular would not apply to political prisoners lying unjustly and unlawfully. As we live, we have seen once again that the circular does not apply to political prisoners who do not obey the AKP-MHP government. If there was justice, this circular would cover all of them, but it is unreasonable to think that this circular will be taken into account and applied to political prisoners in a country without justice."

 

'THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO END THE ISOLATION'

 

Stating that the violations in the prison stemmed from the isolation policy carried out on Abdullah Öcalan, Demir said: "The only solution is to end the violations in prisons is to end the isolation in İmralı because Öcalan is a leader of the peoples of Turkey, the Middle East, and especially the Kurdish people. It is the existence of the Kurdish people, to end this existence is to end the Kurdish people. But we see that Abdullah Öcalan's resistance is a means for the Kurdish people to stand. The Kurdish people were standing with the paradigm of Abdullah Öcalan, they found their way in that way. The AKP-MHP government, this fascist bloc that we call the People's Alliance, aimed to block its way, with the vision that it would bring peace and tranquility to the world with the perspective and paradigm of Abdullah Öcalan because the world, this fascist government, the peoples of the Middle East and the Kurdish people know that peace will come from here.”

 

MA / Rukiye Adıgüzel