ISTANBUL - Families of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners in İmralı applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the İmralı Prison Directorate, requesting a meeting.

Mehmet Öcalan, the brother of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under severe isolation conditions in İmralı Type F High Security Prison and has not been heard from for 34 months, and his trustee Mazlum Dinç, applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate, requesting a meeting. Prisoners held in İmralı, Ömer Hayri Konar’s brother Ali Konar, Hamili Yıldırım’s brother Polat Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş’s sister Melihe Çetin, also applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate, requesting a meeting.

REASON FOR 'DISCIPLINARY PENALTY'

The right to meet with the families of Abdullah Öcalan and the other three people held in İmralı is being denied, citing "disciplinary penalties". Between 2021 and 2023, Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners were given at least 5 disciplinary penalties of 3 months each, and their right to visit their families was taken away.

The reasons and file numbers of these disciplinary penalties are not shared with their lawyers despite all applications and objections.

As a result of the applications made by the lawyers of Asrın Law Firm to the Bursa Execution Judgeship, the judgeship stated that disciplinary punishments of 3 months were given on 18 August 2021, 3 months on 3 February 2022, 3 months on 31 May 2022, and 3 months on 9 September 2022.

Responding to the application made by the lawyers on July 10, 2023, on July 19, the judgeship announced that there was a 3-month disciplinary penalty, without specifying the date on which it was given. The last application of the lawyers was on October 10, 2023. Responding to the application made to the Bursa Execution Judgeship requesting family views, on October 13, the court stated that there was a new disciplinary penalty given against Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners.

The judge's office cited "its reflection in the press" as the reason for not sharing the file number subject to disciplinary punishment.