AMED - ÖHD Amed Branch Co-chair Gizem Miran stated that they will take initiatives against the Imrali isolation and said: "A voice should be raised against this unlawfulness without any hesitation."

 

There has been no news from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is being held in İmralı Type  F High Security Closed Prison, since March 25, 2021. 449 family and lawyer meeting applications made since the said date were either left unanswered or rejected citing "disciplinary" penalties. Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD) Amed Branch Co-chair Gizem Miran said that they will take new initiatives against the Imrali isolation.

 

KURDISH QUESTION AND ISOLATION

 

Stating that both national and international legal regulations were overthrown in İmralı, Miran said: "This situation has turned into a personalized execution regime. The isolation was also aggravated during the period when the deadlock deepened. The approaches of the state or the changing powers within the state to the solution of the Kurdish issue have turned into isolation. It is possible to see that the isolation becomes even deeper when a deadlock is imposed and the war environment re-emerges."

 

Drawing attention that the atmosphere of war and conflict disappeared when the ground for dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan was established, Miran said: "The lifting of the isolation would be effective in resolving the Kurdish Question and the obstacles to democratization. As a lawyer and a Kurdish female lawyer, I would like to say that the solution to the Kurdish question is through dialogue and ending the war environment."

 

THE SILENCE OF THE CPT

 

Stating that international mechanisms were inadequate regarding the isolation, Miran said: "The member countries of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe remained silent about the isolation resulting from their political, social and economic relations with Turkey. The violation of the most basic human right, the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, is being sacrificed in these negotiations. As we know, it has been a long time since the last visit of the CPT; however, it still has not announced its report on this issue. Moreover, we learn this information from the applications made by Öcalan's lawyers, public information, and the statements made by international authorities on this issue. Despite the lawyers' applications requesting precautions saying 'we think there is a danger to his life, we cannot get any news', the CPT has refrained from making any statements for a while."

 

'WE WILL HAVE INITIATIVES'

 

Reminding that they applied against the isolation with 775 lawyers within the scope of the signature campaign they started as ÖHD, Miran said: "Neither the applications made by the bar associations nor the application made by us lawyers have yet been answered; however, in the coming processes, we will still have initiatives and applications within the legal framework. A voice should be raised 'without hesitation'. We call on all judicial and administrative authorities regarding this issue again; All applications we make, which are in accordance with Turkey's legislation, must be responded to and this unlawfulness must be eliminated as soon as possible."

 

MA / Eylem Akdağ