ISTANBUL - Bursa 2nd Execution Judge has imposed a 6-month lawyer visitation ban on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and 3 other people under arrest in İmralı.
PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım were banned from being visited by their attorneys for 6 months. The request was made by Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The decision was made on September 23.
Öcalan's lawyers were prevented from going to İmralı Island after July 27, 2011 for various reasons. After a break of 8 years, lawyers were able to visit the island as a result of the hunger strike initiated by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-Chair Leyla Güven, on May 2, 2019.
On May 16, 2019, when the hunger strikes were ongoing, Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül made a statement saying, "The decision regarding the ban on attorney meetings were revoked". Following this statement, attorneys were able to visit the island on May 22, June 12- 18 and August 7, 2019. None of the 107 applications made by the attorneyse after that were responded neither positive nor negative.