ISTANBUL - Eren Keskin, one of the first lawyers of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was brought to Turkey with an international conspiracy, stated that the isolation started in the first days and said: "If the isolation is lifted, a new peace will blossom in our geography."

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who left Syria on October 9, 1998, with the international conspiracy carried out in partnership with global powers, was brought to Turkey on February 15, 1999 and put in the specially designed İmralı Type F High Security Prison. Abdullah Öcalan was given the death penalty at the last hearing of the trial, which started on May 31, 1999 at the Ankara State Security Court No. 2, after he was brought to Turkey, and was held on June 29, 1999. Abdullah Öcalan has been held in severe isolation conditions in İmralı Prison for 25 years, with the sentence later commuted to aggravated life imprisonment.

 

Days of fire were witnessed in Turkey, where Abdullah Öcalan was brought to on February 15, 1999, with the international conspiracy shaped under the coordination of the United States of America (USA). Each stage of the trial, which Abdullah Öcalan described as the "Imrali Theater", started with restrictions and lynching attempts against the lawyers. Lawyers, who were subjected to constant pressure, faced attacks and threats from the police, soldiers and racist groups.

 

On February 16, 1999, when the protests against the international conspiracy began, he was called by journalists and asked, "Will you take on the legal services of Abdullah Öcalan?" Eren Keskin, the Deputy Chairperson of the Human Rights Association (IHD) at the time, in which the question was asked, said in her article she previously wrote in Yeni Yaşam Newspaper: "How will it start?" was on everyone's mind at that time. Eren Keskin said that on the 5th day of Abdullah Öcalan's arrival to Turkey, she was called by the then Deputy Chairman of the IHD, Osman Baydemir, and that during their meeting, the only question he asked was "Are you in?" He stated that they acted as Abdullah Öcalan's lawyer by answering the question "I'm in". Keskin noted that advocacy, which started with 12 lawyers, then increased, and in his article, she described those days as "There was the smell of death everywhere" and stated that people were lynched in the streets, cries of threats were raised, hatred was openly organized, and they were targeted in the newspapers.

 

Noting that violence was organized at that time and the solidarity of the Kurds was revealed, Keskin reminded that the isolation started in the first days when lawyers were prevented from going to İmralı on the grounds that the "coaster was broken".

 

Eren Keskin evaluated the international conspiracy on its 25th anniversary and talked about what happened after Abdullah Öcalan was brought to Turkey.

 

Stating that PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan's bringing to Turkey through an international conspiracy cannot be explained within the legal framework, Keskin reminded that while the conspiracy was being hatched, Abdullah Öcalan requested asylum in many countries and his applications were not accepted by any country and he was brought to Turkey. Underlining that international powers violated all international agreements in the person of Abdullah Öcalan with this attitude, Keskin said: “From the very beginning, there was a violation of both international law and Turkey's own domestic law. Bringing Mr. Öcalan to Turkey, the way he was detained, what happened in custody and his subsequent arrest were all done unlawfully. What both the lawyers and him experienced after his arrest is completely against domestic law. Today, this unlawfulness still continues with arbitrary restrictions."

 

KESKİN IS ONE OF THE FIRST LAWYERS

 

Stating that he was one of the first names to act as a lawyer after Abdullah Öcalan was brought to Turkey, Keskin added that they were constantly called by journalists for this reason. Stating that they learned about Abdullah Öcalan's bringing to Turkey from the statement made by the then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, Keskin said: “When we first heard about it, we all went to the prisons because there could be a big rebellion, we were all very worried. Everyone was very confused, 'What will happen to the Kurdish problem from now on? "What should be done in a legal sense?' was discussed."

 

SHORT INTERVIEW, ONE QUESTION: ARE YOU IN?

 

Recalling that Osman Baydemir called her on the 5th day of Abdullah Öcalan's arrest and asked to meet, Keskin said: “We went to a very luxurious restaurant so that no one would understand why we met. It was a funny situation, because the place we went was a place where high society people go. We chose that place because no one would recognize us. We sat for a very short time, only Osman asked me, 'Are you there?' And I said 'I'm in'. This much. Then we invited our friends to a meeting at the Society and Legal Research Foundation (TOHAV). First, 12 lawyers came together. We went to the State Security Court (DGM) the next day."

 

SURPRISE OF THE DGM PROSECUTOR

 

Explaining that they went to the State Security Court (DGM) the next day to submit a petition, Keskin continued his words as follows: "I, Ahmet (Ahmet Zeki Okçuoğlu) and Osman Baydemir, entered the chief prosecutor's office and said, 'We are Öcalan's lawyers and we want to meet with him.' The prosecutor got angry and looked at us with hatred. Then he walked around the room several times with the petition in his hand. Then he sat down, signed the petition as if hitting the table, and said, "Take it away." After completing the petition process, we went to IHD. The association was very crowded and divided into two. While one side was opposing us saying 'you will close the association', the other side was applauding and chanting slogans. We said, 'We do not get permission from the association to defend someone. Abdullah Öcalan has the right to defend himself, just like everyone else.' This is how the process started."

 

FIRST STATEMENT AND RACIST ATTACKS

 

Stating that she never had the opportunity to meet with Abdullah Öcalan after taking the case, Keskin said: “Since we are the Deputy Chairpeople of the IHD, the association did not want me and Osman to meet. Hatice Korkut and Ahmet Zeki Okçuoğlu met first. After the meeting, we made a statement at the Turkish Journalists Association in Cağaloğlu. MED TV wanted to broadcast the statement live, but since we did not have the facilities, we had our friend İmam Şahin lie under the table, and he was sending a live voice recording to MED TV with his mobile phone in his hand. While the statement was being made, all hell was breaking loose outside. A previously organized group was throwing racist slogans, threats and stones against us. After the statement, we went to the police chief and asked for protection. The police chief said to us 'Leave as you came.' When another lawyer friend said, "Let's call the American Consulate, they will protect us," they panicked and took us out of there with an armored vehicle. We survived a great danger."

 

THE LAWYERS COULD NOT GO HOME FOR 6 MONTHS

 

Explaining that they were targeted by the media after their statement, Keskin said: "A banner 'How happy I am a Turk' was hung from end to end in the building where my house is located. We couldn't go home for 6 months. They were publishing large pictures of us in the newspapers every day. They attacked her a lot, especially based on her identity as a woman. There were so many death threats that eventually Taha Akyol wrote an article in Milliyet newspaper. In his article, he said for us: 'They are doing their job as lawyers. The attacks on them are wrong.' After Akyol's article, these stopped for a while. Later, we realized that those attacks were also directed from a center."

 

ISOLATION STARTING FROM THE FIRST DAY

 

Pointing out that isolation policies have been put into effect in İmralı since the first day, that this started on the grounds that "the coaster was broken" and that it is continued today with punishments given under the name of "discipline", Keskin said that this situation cannot be explained by any law or reason. Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), Society and Law, to fulfill the relevant violation decisions given by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) regarding the "aggravated life imprisonment" given to prisoners Hayati Kaytan, Emin Gurban and Civan Boltan along with Abdullah Öcalan. Recalling the application made by the Research Foundation (TOHAV), Human Rights Association (İHD) and Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV) to the Council of Europe (EC) Committee of Ministers on July 29, Keskin noted that despite the applications, there has been no change since 2021.

 

INTERNATIONAL SILENCE

 

Emphasizing that Abdullah Öcalan will not be considered just a prisoner, Keskin criticized the silence of international law on this issue. Keskin said: “Those who call themselves opponents remain silent against this unlawfulness. No political party except Kurdish politics makes a sound: therefore, if we consider that the opposition and the government are fed by the same political ideology, we can understand the reason for this silence."

 

'IF ISOLATION IS REMOVED, PEACE WILL GROW'

 

Stating that the Kurdish question has been pushed into a deep deadlock with isolation policies, Keskin said: "The Kurdish Question has become an international problem. Mr. Öcalan is the most important actor in solving the Kurdish Question. Keeping that actor silent, obstructing him means leaving the Kurdish people silent and without a solution. The biggest obstacle to peace today is the state. If there is to be peace in this geography, it can happen if the state wants it. Currently, the conflict environment continues because the state does not want it. The most important center of this deadlock is the isolation in İmralı. If the isolation in İmralı is lifted, a new peace will blossom in our geography."

 

MA / Esra Solin Dal