The situation of not hearing from Hamili Yıldırım, Veysi Aktaş and Ömer Hayri Konar, who are held in the same prison with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under severe isolation conditions in İmralı Type F High Security Prison for 24 years, has continued for 34 months. Family and lawyer visits for Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners are systematically prevented by citing "disciplinary penalties".

 

LAST CONTACT VISIT

 

Abdullah Öcalan was last able to meet with his lawyers on August 7, 2019. Abdullah Öcalan, who has been able to meet with his family only 5 times since 2014, last met with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 3, 2020. This was also the last contact visit with Abdullah Öcalan.

 

THE LAST PHONE CALL THAT WAS INTERRUPTED IN HALF

 

The latest news from Abdullah Öcalan was the telephone conversation with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 3, 2021, which was interrupted and lasted approximately 4 and a half minutes. Since this date, there has been no news from either Abdullah Öcalan or the other prisoners in İmralı.

 

487 APPLICATIONS IN A THOUSAND DAYS

 

While the absolute isolation, referred to as "incommunicado" in international law literature, continues in İmralı, the initiatives of lawyers and families continue. Asrın Law Firm lawyers and families submit new applications to both Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate every week, requesting a meeting. Since the last contact with Abdullah Öcalan on March 25, 2021, a total of 487 applications, including 338 lawyers and 149 family applications, have been made to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison; however, all these applications were either left unanswered or blocked with "disciplinary penalties" for which the reason was not specified.

 

THE FREEDOM CAMPAIGN CONTINUES

 

Protests and activities initiated to demand Abdullah Öcalan's physical freedom, to end the isolation and to provide access to his family and lawyer, continue. In this context, a global campaign "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, solution to the Kurdish issue" was launched on October 10.

 

The Human Rights Association (IHD) applied to the Ministry of Justice to meet with Abdullah Öcalan on November 29. Most recently, a hunger strike was launched in 106 prisons on November 27 for the physical freedom of PKK Leader Öcalan.

 

CALL FROM THE DELEGATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN

 

The International Women's Delegation also came to Turkey in December. Stating that they came to Turkey for Abdullah Öcalan, the delegation members met with Asrın Law Firm, which acts as Abdullah Öcalan's lawyer. In its statement, the delegation called: "The isolation of Abdullah Öcalan should be ended immediately, his role as the democratic leader of the Kurdish people should be defined, and in this case, the need for his immediate release will arise."

 

MA / Diren Yurtsever