The lawyer of the leader Abdullah Ocalan Mazlûm Dînç pointed out they had sent their report to the European Committee against Torture (CPT), regarding the violation of international laws practiced in Imrali prison, and said,” the mission of this committee is to stop torture, not just document it.”
Hawar news agency (ANHA) interviewed with Ocalan’s lawyer, Mazlûm Dînç, who talked about an intensive isolation on Abdullah Ocalan.
At the beginning of his speech said that “the Turkish state and supportive states of the isolation see in the directives in solving the crisis as danger on it, so the meeting is prevented, saying ” if they did not prevent the meetings, the crises would not have deepened, adding: ” the community must support the hunger strike activity, doing their duty towards this strike.”
Isolation imposed violates Turkish laws also
Mazlûm Dînç has explained that isolation is being increasingly intensified day after day, violating the laws and Turkish rights also, they are ignoring any of Kurdish rights, they violate the laws, every prisoner has the right to meet with his lawyer and family, and making any communications with the outside, but the all the rights are being prevented on him, when the matter is linked with Ocalan’s leader and the prisoners exist in Imarli prison which violate all international laws, and international institutions confirm our views. The European Committee Against Torture (CPT), in its report prepared after its visit to Imrali prison, said that Mr. Ocalan and the other three prisoners in Imrali prison had been imposed isolation and prohibited from any contact with the outside, and that these practices are contrary to international laws and cannot be accepted it. “
They hide from us the decisions issued against Imarli prison
He said that the regime is determined in the policies of isolation, and continued by saying, “Once again they prevent meetings, and a decision was made to prevent the use of the phone, and they made the decision to obstruct the lawyers, and now we have received information about the decision to prevent family meetings as well, which was taken in September, all of these decisions show insistence.” To continue the strict isolation policies on the one hand, in addition to the decisions against Imrali resistance on the other hand, but we are continuing our struggle against these illegal practices.
They have also hidden from us the decision to prevent meetings with families, and there are no such laws even within the laws of Turkey, so we have sent many messages, but so far they have not been answered, and we do not know whether these letters that we write to them reach or not? What the family provided, we learned that a punishment was imposed on the prisoners in Imrali, and we should have been aware of any punishment imposed on our clients, but they hide these decisions from us, so that we are not present when they are taken, even they did not inform us of any information about this punishment, and its causes. “
After the European Committee Against Torture (CPT) report, isolation is further tightened
Mazlûm Dînç noted that after the publication of the European Committee Against Torture (CPT) report, the isolation was further tightened, and said, “Although the CPT report was not of the required level, it confirms the non-human rights policies in Imrali prison, and it documented many violations in its report, It has many proposals to lift the isolation, but the Turkish state has not yet taken any step in this context, on the contrary, it took steps to reverse the proposals and negatively, and its decision was to tighten isolation, which makes it clear that Turkish officials do not attach any seriousness to these institutions as well, and do not accept their reports. And its proposals, that is, Turkey made its position clearly about these organizations, and therefore these institutions must express their position regarding Turkey’s non-recognition of them, and the European Committee against Torture must do its duty and take its position, not just documenting the violations. “
We have informed the European Committee against Torture of the unlawful decisions taken against Imrali
He said, “We used to have meetings with the European Committee Against Torture before, but now there are no meetings due to the Corona pandemic, despite that, we send our reports to it, and we have informed her about the recent non-human rights decisions that have been taken against Imrali prison, and we also have meetings about isolation with The European Court also, but so far these international institutions have not taken any step, and have not expressed any position on illegal policies, and without doubt this cannot be accepted, and their silence indicates their lack of seriousness. If they do not implement their task, then why are they present?
When the matter is related to the Kurds and Mr. Ocalan, these institutions are silent and do not implement their tasks, and this is unacceptable, especially European institutions, as they do not work according to the decisions for which they were established, but they move according to political interests, and for this they must work according to their decisions and charters, and move away from political bargaining, and in this context we will continue our meetings until steps are taken in this context. Otherwise, their silence indicates their approval of what is being done and their partnership in it. “
In order for Ocalan not to play his role, they forbid meeting him
After the hunger strike that was organized by MP Leylal Guven, 5 meetings were held by the lawyers, and on the occasion of the holiday the families were able to visit the prison twice, but after August 2019, visits were banned, and about the promises that the Turkish state made during the hunger strike, he said, “In front of the public opinion, they said that meetings were allowed, and all obstacles that impeded these meetings have been removed, and the meetings will take place, and during our visit to Mr. Ocalan, he clarified his clear and supportive position to solve the pending crises once again, and made many proposals in this context, and to resolve the outstanding issues.” In the Middle East as well, he had many proposals, and Ocalan said (if I had the opportunity, I would play my role more to solve crises), but the Turkish state and the forces that had a role in the conspiracy saw that their interests were in danger, after these statements, and for this I made Immediately to prevent meetings. “
Participants in the conspiracy participate in the isolation, also tightening it.
Regarding the prevention of visits and meetings, Mazlûm Dînç said, “If they had allowed Mr. Ocalan to play his role, the current crises would not have deepened and worsened, and there would be steps and developments to solve them, but resolving peoples’ issues, especially the Kurdish people, would not be in the interest of authoritarian states, and for this they blocked the road and prevented the meetings. Therefore, the countries that participated in the conspiracy are also participating in isolation today, because tightening the isolation is in their interest. “
Prisons have always played their role, which is why society now has to play its role.
On the 27th of last November, the prisoners of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdistan Women’s Freedom Party (PKK), who are in the prisons of Bakur Kurdistan and Turkey, began a hunger strike, in order to lift the isolation and freedom of leader Ocalan,
Regarding this strike, he pointed out that this strike is a legitimate right, and said, “The strike began in 2018, and it escalated greatly in 2019, always prisons have played their role, and of course political prisoners live in strict isolation, investigations have been opened against them, and they are punished, but the hunger strikers, we insist on resisting them, this strike is of great meaning and importance, but before prisons, others must assume this responsibility, because the struggle, activities against isolation should be from the prisons’ mission only, because of an intensive silence, prisoners took this step again and these activities against violations must remain within narrow limits, and international institutions, as well as society, must do their duty in this context. When isolation is tightened, violations of peoples’ rights also escalate. After the meetings were prevented, violations of the right to life, the right of women, and violations of society increased. And with the tightening of isolation, the attacks escalate. If society is likely to rise up, it raises its voice about these practices, because this issue is not just the issue of prisons. “