There has been no news from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is being held under pain and isolation conditions in İmralı F Type High Security Closed Prison since 25 March 2021 . Öcalan had an "interrupted" telephone conversation with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on the aforementioned date. No positive or negative response was given to the applications made by Öcalan's relatives after the phone call. Öcalan is also prevented from meeting with his lawyers. The last time Öcalan had a meeting with his lawyers was on August 7, 2019. Öcalan was given a 6-month ban on lawyers visits by the Bursa Execution Judge on October 12, 2021. Although the ban expired on April 22, the application of lawyers to Bursa Execution Judgeship on April 29, requesting a meeting with Öcalan, was also rejected. It turned out that the reason for this refusal was a new 6-month lawyer visit ban on April 13. There has not yet been a positive or negative response to the applications made through non-governmental and legal organizations against the state of incommunicado imposed on Öcalan and the aggravated isolation.

 

Association for Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) Co-chair Bünyamin Şeker, one of the legal organizations demanding an end to the isolation on Öcalan, made evaluations about last ban and the "private law" practices in İmralı.

 

'ISOLATION VIOLATES THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY'

 

Drawing attention to the fact that Öcalan has been held under isolation since 1999,  Şeker described the isolation in question as "conscious and personal". Saying that the legal system in Imrali is unlike anywhere else in the world, Şeker mentioned that neither Öcalan's right to weekly the phonecalls, nor the family and the lawyer's visits has been provided in the last year. Stating that the isolation in Imrali cannot be explained within the legal mechanisms and that it is against the principle of equality in the constitution, Şeker said, "The isolation against Mr. Öcalan appears before us as a regime specific to the individual, as a system of state policy."

 

BAN ON VISITS WITHOUT ANY JUSTIFICATION

 

Reminding that Öcalan demanded to see his lawyers in the last "interrupted" phone call, Şeker noted that the statements in the meeting in question exposed the lies of the state that says Öcalan refuses to see his lawyers on his own accord. Şeker said: "Öcalan was able to see his lawyers only 5 times since 2011. This is not something that can be explained with law. A disciplinary punishment was brought to the public opinion most recently. The 59th Article of the Penal Code clearly explains how lawyers visits are regulated, how and under which circumstances those visits can be restricted. This disciplinary punishment violates this code. It shows that this policy of the state cannot be explained by law. The state cannot find a legitimate basis so that the lawyer can explain why the ban is applied."

 

DECISIONS ARE NOT SERVED 

 

Referring to the last 6-month ban, Şeker stated that the decision cannot be explained by law. Drawing attention to the fact that a second disciplinary punishment was given before the first ban expired, Şeker said, "If there is a court decision about a person held in prison, this is communicated to his lawyers. The file is shared with his lawyers. Lawyers run the appeal processes accordingly. There is such an absurdity in the decision made regarding Mr. Öcalan: The files are not shared with his lawyers. So at the moment, it is not known what the decision was made about, what it was made for, when it was made, whether the appeal period has expired or not. Even the existing laws are not implemented in the case of Mr. Öcalan. These are the results of the state's practices. The state applies a special policy to Mr. Öcalan. It explains it with law, but nothing about is legal. When a decision is made, the actions to be taken against those decisions must be included in those decisions. However, when it is about Mr. Öcalan, none of the laws are applied. For this reason, the state of isolation have become an issue that can not be explained within law."

 

MINISRTY OF JUSTICE DID NOT RESPOND

 

Stating that the isolation has an international dimension as well as political, legal, diplomatic and legal aspects, Şeker reminded the violation decisions of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the Council of Europe Council of Ministers regarding Öcalan. Expressing that they want to break the communication between Öcalan and the society, Şeker stated that they are taking initiatives against the isolation and the ban on lawyers. Şeker shared that they applied to the Ministry of Justice after the applications of Asrın Law Office, but they still did not receive an answer. Pointing out that this also means that the state's mechanisms are not being operated, Şeker said, "No matter what happens, when a negative or positive administrative application is in question, the state mechanisms should respond with continuity and seriousness. However, these practices have not been operating in the Turkish state for a long time. The seriousness of the state and the continuity of the processes has been eliminated. The process is operated arbitrarily. 

 

CALL TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS

 

Şeker called on non-governmental organisations to make efforts regarding the isolation and implement legal mechanisms, and continued as follows: "Those who fight this struggle should not be left alone. Those who are struggling against isolation are those who fight for social interests, not for their own personal concerns. In this sense, the more people focuses on this, the faster we get results. The end of the isolation means that the problems and war policies in Turkey will come to an end. We expect the democracy forces and NGOs to strengthen the struggle."

 

 

 

MA / Müjdat Can - Mehmet Güleş