Lawyers of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan filed a new application to meet with their client in Imrali.

The new request was filed by lawyers Mazlum Dinç, Ibrahim Bilmez, Nevroz Uysal and Serbay Köklü, who once again applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.

So far all requests made by lawyers have gone unanswered.

Background

On 14 March rumours spread on social media claiming that Öcalan had died in prison. Immediately protests were organised around the world demanding an urgent visit by the lawyers to Imrali.

On March 25th, Öcalan was able to talk with his brother Mehmet Öcalan. The short phone conversation happened about a year after a previous call, on 27 April 2020, and it is the first time since then that Öcalan had an actual contact with someone outside.

The phone conversation was held under the supervision of the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and was very short. The call was interrupted pretty soon. Likewise, the phone call by another prisoner on Imrali, Hamili Yıldırım, with his family was also abruptly interrupted. It was reported that the other two prisoners, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş, did not make the phone call they were offered to protest isolation.

A number of applications have been filed by the lawyers and family members of Öcalan since March 14 for an “urgent meeting” with the Kurdish leader. Two separate applications have been submitted to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).