ANKARA- Stating that they demanded the CPT to visit PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, İbrahim Bilmez, one of the lawyers of Asrın Law Firm, shared that CPT officials put Imralı on their agenda after the "condemnation" letters sent by the prisoners.

 

Asrın Law Firm lawyers met with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) affiliated with the Council of Europe regarding PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan. According to the news in ANF; İbrahim Bilmez, one of the lawyers who took part in the meetings, said: “We have been meeting with CPT regularly since 1999 whenever we have the opportunity. When we are not meeting, we report on the developments in Imralı approximately every three or four months. It was a meeting of this scope.”

 

Bilmez noted that they conveyed to CPT their latest situation regarding the situation in Imralı and said: “We conveyed that we have not received any news for about three years, how much this situation worries us and the Kurds, and its negative reflections on Turkish society. We conveyed our demands. We stated that we did not even have any information about the health conditions of Mr. Ocalan and our clients there. And therefore we stated that the CPT must publish the report they prepared after their last visit.”

 

WE DEMANDED A MEETING'

 

Lawyer İbrahim Bilmez said: “Also, even if that report is published, we demanded the CPT to make an urgent visit to Turkey, at least for the health situation, since it is no longer up to date. Because the lack of news really worries people.” Regarding how the CPT responded, Bilmez said: "They also listened to us, took note of our demands and said they would share them with their members in the committee."

 

Regarding whether the CPT has given any information about their talks with Turkey, Bilmez said: “They always give us the same answer. They say, 'According to our own rules, we cannot provide any information about our meetings with the Turkish government.' This is their answer. But they also say this: Imrali is always on our agenda.”

 

THE LETTERS ARE EFFECTIVE

 

Stating that CPT officials said that they received many letters from prisons in Turkey, Bilmez said: “In addition, CPT received thousands of letters from different prisons in Turkey condemning the situation in Imralı, and this was effective in CPT putting Imralı on their agenda.” 

 

IMRALI CONTACTS

 

Stating that they held meetings with parliamentarians from different countries and different groups at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Bilmez said: “We also conveyed the lack of news in Imralı to them. Some of the parliamentarians we interviewed brought it to the agenda of the General Assembly. We find this very important and we will continue our work. Because representatives and parliamentarians of more than 40 states affiliated to the Council of Europe come together here. And thus, they also learned about this unlawfulness.”