The absolute isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan has been going on for 21 years. Struggles in different areas are being carried out for a long time with the demand for the end of the isolation and freedom for Öcalan. With this demand, hunger strikes and death fasts were carried out in prisons in different periods. On November 27, 2020, political prisoners started an indefinite and rotating hunger strike demanding an end to the isolation and the violations of rights in prison. Lawyer Berdan Acun, Head of the Lawyers Association for Freedom (ÖHD), evaluated the hunger strikes in prisons that have entered its 62nd day and the isolation imposed on PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

Stating that the isolation started with Öcalan being extradited to Turkey and put in İmralı Island, Acun said this step was taken with the changes made in the İmralı Island's status. Reminding that İmralı used to be a semi-open prison and it was turned into a second degree high security military prison with Öcalan's arrival, Acun said: "While the Ministry of Justice was in charge of prisons, Prime Ministry Crisis Center took charge of the İmralı Prison. So looking at in in terms of Turkey's Penal regime, the status of İmralı Prison is different then the other prisons. What was the main reason for this? The main reason is the phenomenon we call isolation. The isolation was first imposed on İmralı Prison and started to be tested as a prototype of the way to govern Turkey.  Illegal practices and unlawfulness were first tried on Imralı. It was designed as a preliminary form, then gradually applied over other prisons, and later on all segments of society. Mr. Öcalan not being allowed to meet with his lawyers, not receiving legal aid, not being allowed to meet with his family, restrictions on communication, restrictions in terms of health, all of these things are called isolation."

 

'ECtHR DECISION WAS NOT IMPLEMENTED'

 

Pointing to the debate about whether the violation decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will be implemented against Selahattin Demirtaş, former Co-Chairperson of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and businessperson Osman Kavala, Acun drew attention to the fact that the first non-enforced ECtHR decision was about Öcalan. Reminding that Öcalan was tried and sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment in a short period of 4 months, Acun said, “What does aggravated life imprisonment mean? To be held in prison until you die.  This is clearly against the execution law in terms of both universal human rights law and criminal law principles. As a matter of fact, the European Court of Human Rights made a decision on this subject in 2016 and ruled that being held in prison until you die is a violation of rights as well as torture due to preventing the right to hope. However, a regulation has not been made to any legal legislation regarding this violation of rights."

 

NO ARRANGEMENTS WERE MADE

 

Emphasizing that no arrangements have been made for the implementation of the ECtHR's decision and that the Council of Europe has not applied such pressure, Acun said that Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) published a report in 2019 regarding İmralı and told that there a clear violation of rights in İmralı and the isolation on Mr. Öcalan was a violation of the ban to torture but the CPT did nothing to make Turkey to end these violations. They used the term 'isolation in isolation'. This is an important evaluation however they did nothing to end this isolation."

 

HUNGER STRIKES STARTED

 

Stating that hunger strikes started to protest the non implementation of the violation decisions, Acun said: "Therefore, because of the ongoing isolation, hunger strikes started again. I hope that the Ministry of Justice and the government will eliminate these practices related to isolation, and that lawyers and family visits will be granted to Mr. Öcalan and the other prisoners in İmralı."

 

'ISOLATION IS THE PREVENTION OF A SOLUTION'

 

Emphasizing that the isolation imposed on Öcalan stems from the policy of a deadlock in the Kurdish issue, Acun continued his words as follows: “Öcalan is a person who played an active role in the solution process of the Kurdish issue in 2013-2015. Thus, while there is a Kurdish problem in Turkey, preventing a solution with the isolation of Öcalan and preventing demands of the public is one of the main reasons. The main reason for the isolation on Öcalan is actually the prevention of the demands to be expressed in the solution of the Kurdish problem." 

 

 

MA / Mehmet Erol