Joining forces against the Imrali isolation 

2023-06-17 12:38:19


	 

	ISTANBUL - Stating that the isolation against PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan cannot be held silent, Women activist Helene Erin said: "We will join forces with all sectors in Europe against the isolation."

	 

	PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is being held in Imrali Type F High Security Closed Prison, has been held in severe isolation conditions for 24 years. The state of not being heard from Abdullah Öcalan for more than 2 years has turned into an absolute lack of communication. The “Abdullah Öcalan” campaign launched on June 25, 2012 in the square where the European Council (EC), European Parliament (EP), European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) buildings are located in Strasbourg, France, against the Imrali isolation system. “A Freedom” sit-in has been going on for 11 years without interruption. Kurdish women's movement activist Helene Erin, who has been involved in the protest since the first day and was responsible for the Foreign Relations of the "Liberty Watch" for a period, made evaluations about the Imrali isolation and its actions against it.

	 

	THE RESISTANCE OF THE KURDISH PEOPLE

	 

	Stating that Abdullah Öcalan has been in “absolute” isolation for more than 2 years in light of the developments in the Middle East, Erin said: "The following about the main reason for this practice: “Öcalan's resistance to all kinds of attacks for years causes the Kurdish people to resist as well. As long as Öcalan resists, the Kurdish people also display a historical resistance. His resistance gives his people the will to resist and love. In the light of the developments in the Middle East, the isolation was deepened to end the resistance of the Kurdish people. Öcalan's voice spreading abroad also prevents Turkey's attacks on the gains of the peoples in the region."

	 

	'IT CAN'T BE SILENT IN ISOLATION'

	 

	Stating that the isolation has spread to the whole society, Erin said: “People are afraid to speak their minds now. Unlawful practices in Imrali have spread to all prisons today. In Turkey, especially in the last 3 years, neither freedom of the press, human rights nor law has remained. Now Türkiye has turned into an open prison. An isolation is imposed on the peoples, but the most extreme one is on Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan. It can not be silent in isolation. It is no longer possible to remain silent against this isolation.”

	 

	'CPT APPROVES INSULATION'

	 

	Referring to the CPT's visit to Imrali and the state of silence after it, Erin said: “This silence means that international institutions like the CPT in Europe approve of the isolation. The CPT made a visit and Turkey's approval is required to announce the results of this visit. But if he is silent even against the isolation and crimes against humanity; As I said, it means that he approves of the isolation. Even though the CPT does not talk about the issue, we will continue our struggle.”

	 

	 

	MA / Ergin Çağlar