NEWS CENTER - Upon the increasing concerns about the health and safety conditions of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the KNK called on the UN and the European Union to establish a delegation to visit İmralı.

 

There has been no news for 28 months from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under heavy isolation conditions for 24 years in İmralı Type F High Security Prison. While applications for family and lawyer opinions are rejected on the grounds of "disciplinary" penalties, applications of Asrın Law Office to local courts and the Constitutional Court are also inconclusive. After the statement by Sabri Ok, a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council, regarding the threatening letters sent, concerns about Abdullah Öcalan's health and safety conditions increased. Acting on this, the Kurdistan National Congress called on the United Nations (UN) and the European Union.

 

In the statement made on behalf of the KNK Executive Board, it was stated that the news about the delivery of anonymous threatening letters to Abdullah Öcalan by the Imralı Prison administration caused great concern in the public. Emphasizing that Abdullah Öcalan has been in severe isolation for more than 24 years, the statement reminded that he was poisoned in March 2007 and this was proven by the analyzes made on hair samples.

 

'CPT DID NOT TAKE ACTION FOR IMRALI'

 

The KNK statement, which states that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has so far refused to take action for İmrali and has not shared any information on the situation in Imrali prison, said: “Especially for the last 28 months, Mr. Öcalan's lawyers and family have not been able to visit him. Even phone calls were not allowed to him. Mr. Öcalan last had a short telephone conversation with his brother on March 25, 2021. The lawyers did not receive any response despite their continuous applications to the relevant authorities in Turkey and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to see their clients.

 

DELEGATION REQUEST FOR IMRALI

 

Calling on the KNK, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Union and the United Nations to establish a delegation to visit Abdullah Öcalan, the KNK asked all states and political powers to exert legal, political and diplomatic pressure on Turkey.