The co-chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD), Hüseyin Küçükbalaban, spoke to ANF, and appealed to the Turkish state to refrain from policies of war and extermination and to take a path that serves social peace. Abdullah Öcalan is the key contact for this. However, he has not been able to assert his right to a lawyer or family visit for years, and since March 2021 there has been no sign of life from the Kurdish representative and his three fellow prisoners imprisoned on the prison island of Imrali.

Discussion in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is imminent

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has classified Öcalan's sentencing to an aggravated life sentence without the possibility of parole as a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Although ten years have passed since the court decision, no positive steps have been taken by the Turkish state, and no action has been taken either.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will discuss the ruling of the ECHR during its session from 17 to 29 September. Meanwhile, the illegal incommunicado detention of Öcalan and his fellow prisoners has continued for 42 months.

Turkey has not taken any steps

Küçükbalaban said that ten years have passed since the ECHR decision and that the situation has been "under review" by the Committee of Ministers since then.

The last decision on this was in December 2021: "The Committee decided that Turkey should take legislative or other appropriate measures to create a mechanism that would allow the review of aggravated life imprisonment after a certain minimum period and ensure the possibility of release of the person sentenced to life imprisonment. Turkey must submit a list of the persons concerned by the end of September 2022. In the meantime, Turkey has neither made any effort to create the appropriate legal conditions nor has it provided any information to the Committee."

"The Turkish state has a strong lobby"

Küçükbalaban predicted that the Committee will make a similar decision in September, "since Turkey has not fulfilled any of the previous requirements. The action plans submitted in the case group are repeating themselves over and over again. The Kavala and Demirtaş cases will also be analyzed in this session. In the Kavala case, there is already an infringement procedure against Turkey. The Committee is putting pressure on Turkey to implement the Kavala judgment. This is a priority. Infringement proceedings are pending against two Council of Europe countries: Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Turkey's strong lobby within the Court also plays a role in this. For example, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) did not visit Imrali Prison during its visit to Turkey this year." A new peace process is needed The Turkish government repeatedly argues that the Council of Europe's December 2021 demand has been met with the regulation that the release of a life prisoner "in the case of chronic illness, disability or old age" can take place through a presidential pardon.

"Öcalan is a key player in finding a solution"

Küçükbalaban stressed that Abdullah Öcalan is a key player in solving the Kurdish question, and added: "The state also recognizes his key role. As IHD, we have defended peace and the right to peace since the day we were founded. We also say that the Kurdish question must be solved through peaceful politics. We consider the fact that Abdullah Öcalan, who is a key player in solving the Kurdish question, has not been allowed to meet with his family and his lawyers for more than four years because it is both a human rights problem and a departure from a peace-oriented policy. We have repeatedly addressed our request to the Ministry of Justice to visit Imrali, but have received no response. We call on the state and the government to abandon this policy as soon as possible and return to a policy that serves social peace. As a first step, we call on the state and the Ministry of Justice to allow Abdullah Öcalan to be visited by his family and his lawyers."