ANKARA - Underlining that the isolation in İmralı should not be reduced to just a legal situation, HDP Foreign Relations Co-Spokesperson Hişyar Özsoy said: “Millions of people are wondering about Abdullah Öcalan.”

 

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) announced in its statement on October 3, 2022 that it visited Turkey between September 20-29 and that the Imrali Type F High Security Prison was among the places they visited. Asrın Law Office, which is the defense counsel for PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş held in İmralı on November 29, 2022, said in a statement on the visit: "The CPT made to İmralı Island in September 2022. We have heard that Mr. Öcalan did not attend the meeting”. Although months have passed since the visit, which caused public concern, neither the CPT nor the relevant institutions have yet made a statement. Lawyers and politicians applied to the attitude of the CPT and the statements of Asrın Law Office.

 

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Foreign Relations Co-Spokesperson Hisyar Özsoy made evaluations about the isolation in Imralı Prison, which he likened to "Guantanamo", and the CPT's attitude.

 

 

TWO SEPARATE INFORMATION ABOUT MEETING WITH IMRALI

 

Expressing that they have met face-to-face with the CPT many times and requested information in writing, Özsoy said: "There are two separate pieces of information. When the CPT comes to Turkey, it normally visits Removal Centers. The CPT said that they wanted to visit İmralı while they were there. They have visited. The CPT explained that they had face-to-face interviews with every four prisoners in Imrali; however, according to the information we received from different sources, this meeting did not take place, at least Mr. Abdullah Öcalan refused to meet with them. We repeatedly talked to the CPT and asked questions to clarify the situation. The CPT needs to interview people there in order to write a report. They cannot write a report without an interview. In response to our questions at CPT, they said that they wrote and presented their report and all of these reports are prepared after face-to-face interviews.”

 

'WE TRIED EVERY WAY'

 

Expressing that they tried every way in Turkey to learn the truth about the visit, Özsoy said: “Lawyers and families apply. Lawmakers demand justice. Thousands of lawyers from Europe and different parts of the world are requesting visits. The Council of Europe (EC) intervenes and makes a request. The CPT comes and writes reports, but the government did not leave any way."

 

'MILLIONS ARE WONDERING ABOUT ÖCALAN'

 

Emphasizing that the isolation in Imrali should not be reduced to just a technical and legal situation, Özsoy said: “Millions of people wonder about Abdullah Öcalan and want to know what his situation is. We are talking about a political figure that millions of people say 'Öcalan is our will', not just as a person; therefore, it is an ugly situation for institutions all over the world and in Europe to play blind, deaf and dumb. More interestingly, the AK Parliamentary Council also took decisions regarding the situation in Imrali. In its monitoring reports, it insisted that CPT decisions should be implemented. What Turkey is doing does not comply with its own law, nor does it comply with international law, but we will persistently follow the demand for an end to the isolation."