CHP: Isolation on Kurdish leader should stop
CHP: Isolation on Kurdish leader should stop
In a press conference following a visit to 11 woman prisoners on hunger strike in Diyarbakýr E Type Prison since 12 September, Republican People’s Party (CHP) vice chair and Istanbul MP Sezgin Tanrýkulu said that the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imralý should end.
Tanrýkulu called for the public to act to end the ongoing hunger strike before the situation worsen and said the hunger strikers are in good state of health despite some complaints such as dizziness and hypotension. CHP deputy added that he also met Selma Irmak, jailed deputy of the BDP in the same prison.
Reminding of the deaths in Diyarbakýr E Type Prison in 1980’s, Tanrýkulu underlined that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice should take urgent action and show will and determination to bring the ongoing hunger strike to an end in order to avoid further deaths in prisons 30 years later. “As government authorities have taken no step concerning the hunger strike so far, I hope we won’t witness any incident to hurt our consciences during the four-day festive holiday starting as of tomorrow".
Noting that the eleven woman prisoners will not end their fast, Tanrýkulu said that the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission’s sub-committee on prisons has taken no steps so far since his application to the Commission last week.
Evaluating the two main demands, removal of the isolation on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and recognition of the right to mother language, Tanrýkulu added that;
“These are political demands. The mother language issue is discussed at the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission. This is an issue which will see no progress for some days, I think. However, as to the issue of isolation, nobody should be subjected to isolation for 14 months regardless of his role and the sentence imposed on him. Conditions of isolation in Imralý should therefore be removed before the Committee for the Prevention of Torture meeting on 1 November when this subject will be brought to the agenda.”
Tanrýkulu called for the public to act to end the ongoing hunger strike before the situation worsen and said the hunger strikers are in good state of health despite some complaints such as dizziness and hypotension. CHP deputy added that he also met Selma Irmak, jailed deputy of the BDP in the same prison.
Reminding of the deaths in Diyarbakýr E Type Prison in 1980’s, Tanrýkulu underlined that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice should take urgent action and show will and determination to bring the ongoing hunger strike to an end in order to avoid further deaths in prisons 30 years later. “As government authorities have taken no step concerning the hunger strike so far, I hope we won’t witness any incident to hurt our consciences during the four-day festive holiday starting as of tomorrow".
Noting that the eleven woman prisoners will not end their fast, Tanrýkulu said that the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission’s sub-committee on prisons has taken no steps so far since his application to the Commission last week.
Evaluating the two main demands, removal of the isolation on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and recognition of the right to mother language, Tanrýkulu added that;
“These are political demands. The mother language issue is discussed at the Parliamentary Constitutional Commission. This is an issue which will see no progress for some days, I think. However, as to the issue of isolation, nobody should be subjected to isolation for 14 months regardless of his role and the sentence imposed on him. Conditions of isolation in Imralý should therefore be removed before the Committee for the Prevention of Torture meeting on 1 November when this subject will be brought to the agenda.”
