Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyer Mahmut Şakar drew attention to the aggravated isolation imposed on Kurdish People’s Leader and said they could not obtain any information about his situation, primarily his health condition since April 5, 2015. He noted that this lack information raised concerns for not only his lawyers but also the Kurdish people.

Describing the isolation of Öcalan as a state policy, Şakar said Öcalan was in fact held under a particular status since his capture in 1999, adding; “We call this ‘İmralı system’. Isolation is a major part and consequence of this system Imrali is an island prison specifically built for the isolation of Mr. Öcalan. Denial of visits for Öcalan's meeting with his family and lawyers and his detachment from the outside world is in fact just a part of this isolation.”

'BOTH HIS LAWYERS AND KURDISH PEOPLE ARE ANXIOUS'

Remarking that the isolation in İmralı was aggravated in July 21, 2011, when a prohibition of Öcalan's meeting with his lawyers was put in place, Şakar commented on the recent situation as follows; “According to the present judicial system in Turkey, lawyers have the right to see their clients at any time on conditions of having substitute power. This is a basic part of the right of defense and is not subject to any permission. Despite this, Mr. Öcalan has not been allowed to see his lawyers since 2011, in addition to which he is denied meetings with his family and HDP delegation since April 5. We are not able to receive any information from our client since April 5, we do not know about his health condition even. This makes not the lawyers but also the Kurdish people worry. The lack of information about him raises concerns for not only his lawyers but also the Kurdish people.

'ISOLATION RELATED TO WAR'

Şakar underlined that the aggravation isolation has come to the agenda once again after the Kurdish leader spoiled the game of AKP, adding; “Every period we could not receive any news from Mr. Öcalan has always been times when the Turkish state's attacks against the Kurdish society and democracy forces intensified. There exists such an internal tie between war and violence.”

'SOLELY JUDICIAL STRUGGLE IS NOT SUFFICIENT'

Şakar said the case they carried to the European Court of Human Rights (EctHR) on İmralı isolation remained in process, while they were also in contact with the CPT (European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment).

Remarking that these were however not sufficient, Şakar pointed out that this was a political matter that couldn't be dealt with solely judicial struggle. He remarked that the petition campaigns such as “Freedom for Öcalan” and “Mr. Öcalan represents my will” and the vigil action held outside of European Council have had significant contributions.

“Such actions are all invaluable and contributing initiatives. I believe these actions have put pressure on Turkey and Europe. Our people must know very well that the results of these actions might not be immediately obvious, but their effect is big. Especially the collection of over 10 million signatures for Öcalan's freedom is a historic step”, he added.