ISTANBUL -Stating that the state violated its own laws with the isolation against PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan,  ÖHD Istanbul Branch Co-Chair Gürkan Isteli said: "A legal, social and political struggle should be waged against the isolation."

 

There has been no news for 28 months from Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş, who have been in the same prison as PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in Imralı Type F High Security Prison for 24 years under heavy isolation conditions. While the concerns about Imrali, where conditions of absolute lack of communication are experienced, are increasing, reactions are rising from the Kurdish people, lawyers, rights defenders and various segments. The Co-chairperson of the Lawyers' Association for Freedom (ÖHD) Istanbul Branch Gürkan Wishli made evaluations about the isolation in Imrali and the absolute lack of communication.

 

Stating that the isolation is not included in international and local law, İstekli said: " There are unprecedented conditions and methods in Imrali Prison. The state of isolation has been around for a long time. Although there have been loosenings compared to the isolation period, it has always existed as a concept. Imrali is one of the pillars of the 'Plan of Collapse', which includes the war that the state will wage against the Kurdish people."

 

MAKING A VOICE AGAINST ISOLATION

 

Stating that the isolation has spread to the society, Istekli said: "Because talking about Mr. Öcalan is in isolation. When you talk to Mr. Öcalan and describe the situation he is in, you are faced with the wrath of the state. The most recent example is Merdan Yanardağ, Editor-in-Chief of TELE1. In that sense, to raise a voice against isolation is to liberate the society in one place. It means an end to the oppression and violence of the state."

 

THE REPRESENTATION OF ÖCALAN

 

Emphasizing that the isolation has been deepened by political motives, Istekli said: "Abdullah Öcalan's understanding of representation has a very important place in the struggle for freedom and democracy before all the peoples of the Middle East, especially the Kurdish people. The state and the system are aware of this, so they think that Mr. Öcalan will slow down the struggle by lowering his voice and deepening the isolation."

 

'GOVERNMENT IS BREAKING ITS OWN LAWS'

 

Expressing that every prisoner has the right to meet with his family and lawyers, and to communicate by telephone, İstekli said: "This right is guaranteed by law. The only institution that protects all the rights of a convict, who is under the responsibility of the state, is the state itself. In this case, it is obliged to protect the rights of everyone who is currently in prison, including Mr. Öcalan. The Ministry of Justice is also part of them; however, when the situation is clear with the laws, we are faced with the state not allowing a convict to exercise his rights by violating its own laws. Mr. Öcalan insists on not exercising his rights. This situation cannot be explained by law.”

 

'THE LAWLESSNESS MUST BE ELIMINATED'

 

İstekli continued his words as follows: “Mr. Öcalan is given arbitrary disciplinary and solitary sentences, the reasons for these sentences are not explained. It is possible to say that these penalties have nothing to do with the law, but a purely political decision. The state is definitely using isolation as a method of warfare. This lawlessness must be eliminated.”

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal