URFA - Stating that he doesn't accept just a phone call with his brother, PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan told his brother Mehmet Öcalan whom he spoke on the phone, "The government is doing wrong, and so are you. This is not lawful. I want my lawyers to come here and have a meeting face to face."

 

PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under severe isolation conditions for 22 years in İmralı High Security F-Type Closed Prison, made a phone call yesterday with his brother Mehmet Öcalan for the first time after his phone call on April 27, 2020.  Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office supervised the conversation which was all of a sudden interrupted when the line was cut while Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş rejected the phone call in protest of the isolation.

 

Mehmet Öcalan spoke to Mesopotamia Agency (MA) regarding the details of the 5 minute phone call.

 

HELD IN A ROOM ALONE

 

Mehmet Öcalan stated that he was called at around 18:00 on March 24 by a person who introduced himself as the Imrali Prison Director, and said I should go to the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office at 13.45 on March 25 to speak to my brother on the phone. Öcalan, explaining that he had gone to the city early in the morning and went to Urfa Courthouse just on time, told that the staff there knew about the phone call but he was taken to a room alone at the basement. Öcalan said he was told the phonecall would take place in that room.

 

Picking up the phone when it rang, Mehmet Öcalan said his brother PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan asked him, "How did you get here? Who brought you here? How did it happen? Where are you calling from?" Mehmet Öcalan said: "My brother told me the government was doing wrong and so did we. He said: "Because there haven't been any meetings for a year. This is unlawful in any case. It is very dangerous that you came here and very wrong as well. The government is very dangerous. This is not right. If there will be a meeting it should be within legal framework." The President said over and over again, "This thing you're doing is very wrong. The government is doing wrong. This is now lawful or right. This is unacceptable. And very dangerous in deed. Are you aware of what you're doing? I want my lawyers to come here and visit me in person. This is the lawful thing to do. I've been here for 22 years. This problem can only be resolved by law. Why aren't they coming here? If there will be talks, lawyers should be involved. This situation is both political and legal."

 

'NO ONE SHOULD DIE FOR ME'

 

Stating that he told his brother that one of the reasons he came to speak to him was the ongoing hunger strikes in prisons, Mehmet Öcalan said: "The President said, 'I don't want anyone to die for me on hunger strike or in dungeons. I've told this before. There is no need for it. It is very heavy. You have to take this into consideration." We spoke for 4-5 minutes. I think it was him. He told me, "This phone call is so wrong. This is not a meeting' and the line was cut off.

 

Stating that he told the person in charge that the phone line was cut off, and they told him he must wait, Öcalan said: "Then the phone rang again.It was someone else. They told me I should wait there and shouldn't leave the room. I waited for 15 minutes and told them no one was calling. Then they told me the meeting was over."

 

CALL TO CPT

 

Calling the government and to the peoples with conscience, Mehmet Öcalan underlined that this isolation is unacceptable and added: "A person has democratic and legal rights in prison. According to the laws of Turkey, we have a right to visit once every 15 days. He also has the right to see his lawyers once a week. On the other hand, no one has seen him for a month now. This is not legal in any part of the world. This is anti democratic. And not acceptable accoring to the laws of Turkey. This problem should be resolved as soon as possible. These rights need to be recognized."

 

'DO NOT BURN THE BRIDGES'

 

Öcalan finally said: "Those who delivered the President to Turkey has a responsibility. We are calling to them. The family and lawyers visits must be ensured.Thousands of people are on hunger strike. The government holds the President in prison for 22 years. He is a bridge between the peoples. No one has the right to burn that bridge down."

 

 

MA / Barış Polat - Lezgin Tekay