The sit-in launched in Strasbourg in front of the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) with the demand that the CPT visit Imrali has completed its 32nd day. On Thursday the activists had another meeting with the CPT where they repeated their demands.

A committee made up of Strasbourg Zin Women’s Council Spokesperson, HDP Europe Representative Faik Yağızay, DİDF Representative Kıvanç Demir and Shengal Diaspora Assembly Co-chair Fikret İgrek met with the CPT officials in the name of the activists. The CPT was represented by CPT Turkey desk chief Micahel Neurauter.

The meeting lasted 45 minutes. HDP Representative Yağızay spoke to the ANF afterwards and stated that they have met with CPT officials numerous times and added: “What we want is that a CPT committee visit Imrali or pressure the Turkish government to ensure a visit with his lawyers or family.” Yağızay stressed that the same demand has been voiced in the sit-in in Strasbourg for over a month and continued: “We have told them that the concerns due to Öcalan not being able to meet with anybody is critical for the stability of the region and the freedom of peoples. We urged the CPT to fulfill their duty at once.”

“NO PROMISE FOR IMRALI”

“They repeated what they said in previous meetings,” said Yağızay and continued: “They said they are in constant communication with the Turkish officials, they understand our concerns and they also find it unacceptable that there has been no visits for over a year. They said meeting with lawyers and family is a fundamental human right and they are working on making that happen as well. They said the CPT operates in confidentiality and doesn’t have the right to make announcements, and that even if they visited now they would not be in a place of authority to give out information. They claim they are utilizing all mechanisms and that they are actively working on the issue. They did not give any promises on whether there will be a visit. But they did say they have put a certain pressure on the Turkish government and that the family and lawyer visits are also included in Turkish law, and that they are taking initiatives so the Turkish government complies with said laws.”