Marta Sömek 

 

ISTANBUL - ÖHD Secretary General Rengin Ergül, who said that the new disciplinary punishment given to PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan has no legal basis and that international mechanisms have been acting “scared” against Turkey for a long time, said, “Imralı is an example that is not implemented in the world. The fact that we cannot hear from Imrali and that Imrali cannot communicate with the outside world is a form of ill-treatment. We expect the public to show more clearly their struggle or the discomfort they feel to end the isolation.”

 

There has been no news for more than 27 months from PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in aggravated isolation for 24 years in Imrali F Type High Security Closed Prison. In addition to the applications made by his lawyers and family for Abdullah Ocalan, who is in a state of absolute lack of communication, that is, "incommunicado", many attempts and applications from all over the world have been made. However, no positive or negative response is given to the applications made. There is no response to the applications and initiatives made by the Co-Chairs and members of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), both on the basis of associations and individually.

 

'Report in Turkey' response from CPT to our agency

 

The Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) announced on October 3, 2022 regarding its visit to Turkey on 20-29 September 2022, that Imrali F Type High Security Prison was among the institutions it visited. Despite repeated attempts and calls, the CPT, which did not make any statement regarding its visit, announced its 2022 report on 30 March. This report did not include any information about the conditions of the PKK Leader and the visit. On the other hand, in its response to our agency's question, the CPT informed that the 2022 Turkey report was submitted to the government and that the report is currently in Turkey. However, despite all these developments, the absolute miscommunication in Imrali does not end.

 

We talked with the Secretary General of the ÖHD, Rengin Ergul, about the CPT's failure to take the initiative and making a statement, the new disciplinary penalty and the developments.

 

'There is no legal regulation on visual impairment'

 

Stating that there is no legitimate or legal ground that prohibits a prisoner from meeting with a lawyer and his family, Rengin said, “Any legal regulation that prohibits any prisoner from meeting with lawyers and family is not possible in Turkey, neither according to the agreements that Turkey is bound by. There is no such regulation. Especially during the AKP rule, they put this act on a legal basis. However, these decisions are contrary to existing laws and international conventions. In fact, in the violation decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding other prisoners, it is seen as a method of torture that a prisoner in prison is subjected to continuous disciplinary punishment, sentenced to solitary confinement with continuous disciplinary punishment, or the prevention of communication with continuous disciplinary punishments. The ECHR defines it as a punishment within a punishment. Therefore, it is a practice of punishment within the aggravated life sentence that Turkey is currently doing."

 

‘Mechanisms act sluggishly against Turkey!’

 

Remarking that the last disciplinary punishment given to the PKK Leader was not notified, Rengin said, “There is a decision even if it is not communicated to his lawyers and we do not see it. But this decision is illegal according to current law. It has no legitimate basis in international law anyway." On the other hand, emphasizing that the CPT is not a judicial mechanism, Rengin added, “There is the ECHR as a judicial mechanism under the roof of the Council of Europe. The ECHR also has a Committee of Ministers that oversees its decisions. The CPT, which oversees the execution of these decisions, also has a mission. It is defined in the contract. At this point, the CPT can engage in background discussions with the contracting states. This is a mandate from the contract. The biggest reason for these discussions in the background is actually to be able to take structural steps. To have governments take structural steps to improve prison conditions, in particular, to improve the conditions of confinement units. However, if the state party does not take a positive step in taking these structural steps and persistently does not comply with the recommendations of the CPT, the CPT also has the authority to publish the report without waiting for the approval of the state party, according to article 10 of its contract. However, we are of the opinion that international mechanisms and their international structures have been stagnating in their functions against the Turkish state for a long time.”

 

Doesn't use CPT authority!

 

Drawing attention to the fact that the CPT also has the opportunity to exercise its authority at this point, Rengin said, “As the public, we demand this at a point where we are concerned about the safety of a prisoner, whom we have not heard from for 28 months. And again, we are demanding because we are waiting for the person that the Kurdish people show as their will for peace and we are waiting for the words he will make. In other words, we have a demand that has both legal and political grounds, in terms of Turkish politics and the law in Turkey.” Stating that they applied to the CPT together with the ÖHD and international institutions to announce its report, Rengin said, “However, the CPT is not dependent on our applications at this point, of course. We just reminded the principles of the CPT and the articles of the contract. And again, the CPT's September 2022 visit was obviously a focused visit to removal centres. The visit to Imrali seems to us as if it was an extraordinary decision. Because there was no other prison plan. The report published by the CPT was entirely focused on refugees and removal centres. In that respect, he actually published a report in line with his visit concept” and discussed not including Imrali in the report.

 

'The abolition of the isolation should be made visible'

 

Underlining that not being able to hear from Imrali and not being able to communicate with the outside world is a form of ill-treatment, Rengin said, “And we say that the zero point of exception regimes, practices and exception laws in Turkey has always been the Kurds and the Kurdish people's political subjects, the leader. what they see is what they show as the interlocutor. İmralı is one of these zero points. It is the zero point of isolation, aggravated life sentence, and imprisonment until death. All opposition and rights defenders in Turkey need to stand up against this in order to prevent it from spreading to the whole society.” Noting that they have made many applications as lawyers, Rengin continued, “But the fact that these applications are made with effective and visible public support always makes those applications more effective and effective. For this reason, we expect the public to visibly embrace these applications and to more visibly reveal their struggle or the discomfort they feel for the end of the isolation.”