NEWS CENTER - Families of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş held in İmralı Prison applied to the prosecutor's office and the prison directorate for a visit.

 

Mehmet Öcalan, brother of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan who has no news from for 30 months and his legal guardian Mazlum Dinç, and other prisoners in İmralı, Ömer Hayri Konar's brother Ali Konar, Hamili Yıldırım's brother Polat Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş's sister Melihe Çetin applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday, requesting a visit. The families also applied to the Imrali F Type High Security Closed Penal Institution Directorate for a meeting through the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

 

DISCIPLINARY PUNISHMENTS

 

The lawyers applied for an "urgent meeting" with the Bursa Penal Execution Judge on November 22, as no positive or negative response was given to their twice-weekly applications to meet with their client Öcalan. Responding to the application, the judgeship rejected the application, stating that there were two new disciplinary punishments on Öcalan banning the family visits. As an obstacle to the meeting, the judgeship cited the decision that a 6-month ban on meeting Öcalan on October 12 and a 3-month ban on family visits on 18 August was imposed. However, the lawyers were not informed about the decisions cited as reasons for the ban.

 

PENALTY BEFORE THE CPT VISIT!

 

It was noteworthy that the disciplinary punishment coincided with the visit of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to İmralı Prison. The CPT announced on October 3, 2022 that it visited Turkey between September 20-29. In the statement of the CPT, it was stated that the İmralı Prison, where PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım are held, were also visited; however, an information note on the details of the visit was not shared.

 

PHONE CALL WAS INTERRUPTED

 

Öcalan, who has been held under severe isolation conditions in İmralı High Security F-Type Closed Prison for 24 years, made a phone call yesterday with his brother Mehmet Öcalan after the last phone call on April 27, 2020. However, Mehmet Öcalan had announced that the phone call was interrupted.

 

NEW BAN IMPOSED ON ÖCALAN

 

After the disciplinary punishment given on September 9 ended on December 9, the lawyers made 3 separate applications to both the prison and the prosecutor's office on 15 and December 23, 2022 and January 3, 2023. The Bursa Execution Judge informed lawyers on January 4 that Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners were given a new 3-month family visit ban. While the reason for the ban was explained as "disciplinary punishment", no information was shared about why the punishment was given and the date of punishment.

 

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DEMANDS AN OPINION FROM THE MINISTRY

 

The Ministry of Justice was asked for opinion on 23 of the applications made to the Constitutional Court (AYM) by Asrın Law Office in the last 8 years. The Ministry presented an opinion to the Constitutional Court on lawyer bans, family disciplinary bans, telephone rights, bans in İmralı during the State of Emergency (OHAL) and many similar issues.

 

ACCORDING TO THE MINISTRY, THERE IS NO 'ILL-TREATMENT'!

 

In the opinion submitted by the Ministry to the Constitutional Court on March 24 regarding the application to prevent lawyers and families from visiting, the Ministry claimed that there was no "ill-treatment" in Imrali, that there were disruptions in the negotiations due to "reasons that were out of reach" and that this situation was "reasonable".