The international conspiracy, which started with PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan's departure from Syria on October 9, 1998 and continued to brought him to Turkey on February 15, 1999, has entered its 26th year. At this point, there has been no news from Abdullah Ocalan, who is placed in heavy isolation conditions in Imralı Type F High Security Prison, for 35 months. All the lawyers' attempts in domestic law and in international law against the lack of news from Imralı remain conclusive.

 

Bedirhan Sarsılmaz, one of the lawyers of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), evaluated the Imralı legal system, the execution regime and its social reflections.

 

'EXCEPTIONAL LAW IMPLEMENTED IN IMRALI'

 

Stating that the isolation carried out in Imralı is a method of torture and that it has turned into absolute lack of communication at this stage, Sarsılmaz said: “We are talking about a situation where there has been no news from a prisoner for 35 months. We know that Mr. Ocalan was prevented from seeing a lawyer for 8 years between 2011 and 2019. The execution law is clear, Article 25 of the execution law regulates the convict's right to visit his family. Article 59 of the same law regulates the prisoner’s meeting with his lawyers. We see that, against these clear legal regulations, Mr. Abdullah Ocalan is prevented from meeting with both his family and his lawyers. An exceptional law is implemented to him."

 

REFLECTIONS OF IMRALI PRACTICES ON THE EXECUTION REGIME

 

Pointing out that the isolation practices that have been going on for 25 years in Imralı have directly affected the execution regime, Sarsılmaz said: “All meetings of Mr. Abdullah Ocalan with his lawyers since February 15, 1999 were being recorded by state officials. We saw this reflected in the execution law as follows; With the State of Emergency in 2016, a regulation was introduced that lawyers' conversations with prisoners could be recorded under certain conditions. This situation, which remained silent when implemented to Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, began to be implemented to other prisoners with this regulation introduced in 2016."

 

CONDITIONS OF RELEASE ON PROBATION 

 

Sarsılmaz stated that the conditions of Abdullah Ocalan's imprisonment in Imralı are against international and domestic law, but Turkey has not taken any steps on this issue so far.

 

Sarsılmaz said: “As the isolation system against Mr. Ocalan deepens, we see that the violation decisions regarding him are not implemented. He was sentenced to death penalty in the trial in 1999, and was later sentenced to imprisonment until death, based on the regulation in Article 17 of the Anti-Terror Law. We say that this situation is unlawful. In its decision regarding Mr. Abdullah Ocalan in 2014, the ECHR made a regulation stating that this situation violated the right to hope and that this aggravated execution regime was a violation of the 'prohibition of torture' regulated in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). There is also a relevant ECHR decision in Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom. In this decision, the ECHR evaluated that the imprisonment status of a prisoner who received an imprisonment for life should be reviewed after a certain period of time and stated that this period would be 25 years at most. For this reason, we think that the same evaluation should be made for Mr. Ocalan. The 5th paragraph of the 90th article of the constitution also regulates that international agreements should be taken as basis in this regard. For this reason, we think that 25 years have passed and the conditions for Mr. Ocalan's conditional release have been met.”

 

ACTIONS AND EVENTS LAUNCHED

 

Recalling the application made by 1330 lawyers from 35 bar associations to the Ministry of Justice on January 22 against this situation, Sarsılmaz noted that they have not yet received a response regarding this.

 

Stating that protests are being carried out in many parts of the country, especially against political prisoners in prisons, as the government has not taken any steps on this issue, Sarsılmaz said: “As lawyers, we are making the necessary applications, but unfortunately, we see that the government has not taken any steps at this point. A lawyer meeting could not be held between 2011 and 2019. Unfortunately, Mr. Ocalan was able to meet with his lawyers in 2019, along with the hunger strike actions that caused the death of 8 people. Today, activists on hunger strike have started an action to end the isolation imposed on Mr. Ocalan and to solve the Kurdish issue. We see that all of these actions were actually carried out to solve the issue through peaceful methods."

 

'ISOLATION IS WAR POLICY'

 

Pointing out that the isolation imposed on Abdullah Ocalan is directly related to the deadlock of the Kurdish issue, Sarsılmaz said: “Mr. Ocalan is the key person who will play a role in the solution of the Kurdish issue. The reason why the isolation on Ocalan has been deepened so much is the preference for war policies. In every situation where his ideas were reflected in the public, Mr. Ocalan stated that the Kurdish issue could be solved by democratic and peaceful means and that he could take steps at this point."

 

Sarsılmaz continued as follows: "The deepening of the Imralı isolation affects not only the Kurds, but also all the people living in the country and subsequently the entire Middle East. Deepening the isolation is a state policy and as this isolation system deepens and as war is insisted on, we see that there is crisis everywhere. This means It is a result of wanting to solve the Kurdish issue through war policies."

 

MA / İbrahim Irmak