ISTANBUL - Members of the International Women's Delegation, who held contacts in Amed and Istanbul, called for the lifting of the Imrali isolation and the immediate release of Abdullah Öcalan.

 

The International Women's Delegation delegation of 7 people, including lawyers, parliamentarians, ecologists and representatives of non-governmental organizations from various European countries, focused on the isolation and rights violations in prison of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under aggravated isolation on İmralı Island for 25 years and has not been heard from for 33 months, held a press conference following his contacts in Istanbul and Amed between 9-14 December. Members of the delegation, lawyers of ÖHD and Asrın Law Firm, People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Amed MP Ceylan Akça and many lawyers attended the press conference at the Istanbul Branch of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD).

 

A banner reading "Isolation is a crime against humanity" was hung in the hall where the meeting was held.

 

Speaking at the meeting, DEM Party Amed MP Ceylan Akça drew attention to the visits of the delegation and said: “We are under a climate where all the rights of the Kurds in four parts are under attack. The delegation also had the chance to observe this climate. The delegation will share these observations." 

 

'THE SYSTEMATIC RIGHT VIOLATION'

 

Then, Eva Schonveld, a member of the delegation from Scotland, read the observation report prepared on behalf of the delegation regarding the visits. Reminding them that they came here as a civil society delegation, Schonveld said: “We wrote this statement together. We came here during Human Rights Week and listened to the problems of Kurds and other minorities. We collected certain statements from non-governmental organizations. These people were either political prisoners or people who supported them. As a delegation, there was a special point we gave importance to. This was the captivity and isolation imposed on political prisoners and the democratic leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan. As a result of our meetings, we gained some experiences. The statements we have heard show that Turkey systematically violates the fundamental rights of the Kurdish people. At the forefront of this violation is Abdullah Öcalan and political prisoners in prisons. International conventions say, 'No one should be subjected to torture, inhumane treatment.'"

 

'THE ISOLATION HAS BEEN REFLECTED IN ALL PRISONS'

 

Schonveld, who shared that during her visits, he heard that the Imrali isolation was reflected in all prisons, continued his words as follows: “These prisoners cannot communicate with other prisoners. Sometimes they are only allowed to spend an hour outside the cell. Sometimes even this is not allowed. According to international standards, prolonged and uninterrupted isolation is a cruel practice and form of torture. This is what is happening in Turkey. Likewise, we heard that ill prisoners were also subjected to this torture. We also saw that non-governmental organizations recorded it with remarkable reporting. Turkey has failed in human rights. We heard that people whose relatives died in prison were denied access to their bodies and buried. The people who carried out this coercion were the police and the military. The situation of captive women is a matter of particular concern to us. There are cases where more than 50 prisoners shared a single toilet. This is degrading to both the physical and psychological health of women.”

 

ECtHR DECISIONS ARE NOT APPLIED

 

Stating that they witnessed the government discriminating against displaced people and refugees based on their race, Schonveld said: “This will cause tensions within society to increase and anti-refugee sentiment to increase. Erdogan's government is manipulating this situation for its own political interests. This growing humanitarian crisis is supported by the UK and Europe, we curse these countries. The fact that this situation serves political interests leads to fascist implications. While we were here, we were lucky enough to experience just a tiny fraction of what humans are exposed to. What they told us was, 'ECtHR decisions mean nothing in Turkey'. We have real concerns about the Kurdish people. Suppression of a society means oppression of the whole society."

 

Listing their demands as human rights activists, Schonveld listed the delegation's demands as follows:

 

“* The Istanbul Convention should be signed immediately.

 

* EU member states must take immediate action against the oppression of the Kurdish people and minorities.

 

* Attacks on Rojava must be stopped immediately and the invaders must withdraw from the places immediately.

 

* The isolation of Abdullah Öcalan must be ended immediately, his role as the democratic leader of the Kurdish people must be defined, and in this case, the need for his immediate release will arise.

 

* The isolation should be lifted and all political prisoners should be released immediately.

 

* Action must be taken by our own states and all states to remove the PKK from the 'terrorist organization list' and to create a democratic solution for the Kurdish people."