Habibe Eren 

 

ISTANBUL - Speaking about the ongoing isolation in İmralı and not responding to their applications for their visits, Raziye Öztürk, the lawyer of the Asrın Law Firm, stated that their application to the Bursa Enforcement Judgeship in terms of communication and visitation rights was rejected the next day and said: “It should not be forgotten that the isolation is spreading and deepening day by day.”

 

It has been 22 years since PKK Llader Abdullah Öcalan was handed over to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy. Abdullah Öcalan, who has been kept under severe isolation conditions in İmralı F Type High-Security Closed Prison, has not been allowed to meet face to face with his family and lawyers for a long time. His brother Mehmet Öcalan had a telephone conversation with the PKK leader on March 25, after some allegations about health and safety conditions spread on social media in March caused public concern and anxiety. This interrupted conversation lasted only four and half minutes.

 

During the four and half-minute meeting, Abdullah Öcalan reacted to the unlawfulness by saying, "The state is playing wrong and you too. This is not legal it is not true." Abdullah Öcalan emphasized that if there is a meeting, it should be in İmralı and stated that he wanted to meet with his lawyers.

 

While the interruption of the phone conversation raised concerns, the "urgent interview applications" made by the Asrın Law Office to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office almost every day in March were not responded to.

Latest, the family, lawyers and defensor of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office due to the Ramadan Fest.

Raziye Öztürk, one of the lawyers of the Asrın Law Firm, made evaluations to our agency regarding the isolation situation, the points emphasized by Abdullah Öcalan in the phone call and the non-response to İmralı applications.

 

‘Lack of news keeps existing concerns’

 

Stating that Abdullah Öcalan was brought to İmralı within the framework of international conspiracy and as a continuation of this conspiracy, "isolation" was put into effect as a policy based on unlawfulness, arbitrariness, suppression by breaking the will, and said: “At the current stage, there is a state of isolation on Mr. Öcalan that has been going on for 22 years and getting worse. It is possible that family and lawyer visits, letters, fax, etc. communication channels, especially on the phone, are carried out with no or very limited conditions and under extraordinary conditions. Therefore, the inability to receive news from Mr. Öcalan in a continuous and healthy manner creates an atmosphere of great uncertainty and keeps the existing concerns.”

 

‘Trying to continue the international conspiracy’

 

Reminding that the İmralı Ada Prison, which was an open prison before, was designed to accommodate only Abdullah Öcalan, as a result of the secret meeting and agreement between the CIA and Turkey on February 4, 1999, while Abdullah Öcalan was in Europe, continued her words as follows: “This prison, which was declared as a military forbidden zone by air, sea and land and governed under the unconstitutional and illegal Crisis Center Regulation, was in the form of a pro-guantanamo both by the designers and the way of administration. As it is known, the Guantanamo Prison was established as a result of the USA intervention in the Middle East in the early 2000s, with the aim of completely arbitrary and to break the will, that no legal rule worked. The international conspiracy and the İmralı isolation system have also been carried out under the leading of the USA with the aim of neutralizing Mr. Öcalan within the framework of the NATO concept and it is being continued.”

 

‘Abdullah Öcalan has developed a paradigm to breathe’

 

Stressing that the aim of the İmralı system, which Abdullah Öcalan refers to as "pro-guantanamo", is "to break the will of freedom" and to "draw him to their lines", Raziye stated that only Abdullah Öcalan negated this policy. She added that during this process, Abdullah Öcalan developed a paradigm that would breathe the entire Middle East and gave a strong response to all intimidation policies.

 

‘İmralı system is in a position beyond Guantanamo’

 

Stating that Guantanamo Prison is in a better position than İmralı Prison in terms of fundamental rights that will provide connection with the outside world such as lawyer and family visits, communication rights, Raziye continued as follows: “The lawlessness created by the Imrali prison system goes beyond Guantánamo. Because even though rules specific to Mr. Öcalan were introduced in İmralı Prison, even these rules are not applied themselves. None of the rights it possesses are used. The practices are not in accordance with the existing law in Turkey, nor are they in accordance with the laws of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, of which Turkey is a member, and the international conventions it has signed.”

 

‘Revealed once again with democratic reactions’

 

Noting that they could not get any news from Abdullah Öcalan after the last phone call, Raziye recalled the claims about Abdullah Öcalan's health and life and said: “For us, in such an uncertain environment, it was impossible to handle this claim as a simple news. As a matter of fact, it has been revealed once again with the democratic reactions that this is the case not only for us but also for the democratic public. As a result, a short phone call took place on March 25, 2021.”

 

‘The fact that the isolation is spreading and deepening day by day should not be forgotten’

 

Evaluating the statement "The state is playing wrong and you too. This is not legal, it is not true," Raziye said in the phone call that Abdullah Öcalan made with his brother, continued: “It is clear that Mr. Öcalan finds this approach, which reduces his existing fundamental rights to a telephone conversation, unacceptable both personally and in the eyes of the people he represents. It is unacceptable to present a phone call as a bounty, which is only possible under extraordinary circumstances, in the isolation system that has become increasingly severe over the 22-year period. Part of this isolation policy is the perception of "isolation has been lifted", which is intended to be created after rare and limited rights. With this perception, the struggle against isolation is meant to be withdrawn and out. However, it should not be forgotten that the isolation carried out by Mr. Öcalan and our other clients on İmralı Island is spreading and deepening day by day.”

 

‘Not responding to applications is a de facto ban’

 

Raziye stated that they have applied every day since March to interview their clients on İmralı Island and stated that no response has been given to the applications for attorney visits. Raziye said: “We do not know whether there is a new ban or not. When we look at the ban decision dated September 23 and the justification of "bad weather conditions, coaster broken that were put forward before the written ban decisions, its clear that the prohibitions and obstructions regarding İmralı Island never have legal and lawful grounds. Therefore, even if a ban decision is taken in such an atmosphere where there are all kinds of prohibitions and legal rights are not recognized, this will not be a legitimate and legal decision. However, the fact that there is no response to our interview requests is a de facto ban.”

 

‘The Enforcement Judgeship rejected all our demands’

 

Reminding that their addressees were the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office at the point of lawyers and family visits, Raziye reiterated that no response was given to their application to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office after March 23. She drew attention to the fact that they applied to the Bursa Enforcement Judgeship regarding the de facto ban on visiting lawyers, providing the rights of family, visits, telephone calls, correspondence, and removing the barriers to accessing the files. Raziye said: “The Enforcement Judgeship made a decision the next day rejecting all our demands. The objection we made to the High Criminal Court against the rejection has not yet been answered.”

 

‘After the ECtHR verdict, there was no recovery and the torture increased’

 

Referring to the decision of the ECtHR in 2014, which ruled that the İmralı Prison practices are torture and ill-treatment, Raziye stated that there has been no improvement in this situation and that the isolation and ill-treatment have deepened even more. She underlined: “ECtHR decision is very important in terms of revealing that the İmralı Aggravated Execution Regime is nature of torture and needs to be changed. Turkey has not made any regulations regarding this decision dated 2014, which is considered within the scope of the “right to hope” and has adapted the entire penal execution regulation accordingly. In a statement made after the Committee for the Prevention of Torture’s (CPT) visit in May 2019, it once again emphasized the necessity of changing the execution regime. The Turkish government did not make arrangements in line with the implementation of the ECtHR decision and the reports of the CPT, affiliated with the Council of Europe, established by international conventions. By acting on the contrary, it further increased the existing situation of torture.”

 

‘The deepening of isolation is the manifestation of insistence on the solutionlessness’

 

Raziye stated: “Turkey’s act contrary to laws and international conventions is not subject to any sanctions, the spread of decision-making with political motives to the process has spread the existing unlawfulness to the whole of Turkey, especially in İmralı.” She continued: “The domestic law mechanisms are far from getting results. The passive attitudes of the effective institutions and mechanisms in the field of international law, which are almost tacitly sanctioned, unfortunately contribute to the deepening of the isolation. The deepening of the isolation is also the manifestation of the growing chaos and conflict atmosphere, and the insistence of solutionlessness.”