Lawyers visited Çetin Arkaş and Nasrullah Kuran in Silivri Prison after their recent 'exile' from İmralı where they were being held together with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan to serve as his secretariat during the resolution process.
Lawyers for Asrın Law Office have visited Çetin Arkaş and Nasrullah Kuran in Silivri Prison after their recent 'exile' from İmralı where they were being held together with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan to serve as his secretariat during the resolution process.
Çetin Arkaş and Nasrullah Kuran have released a statement through their lawyers in which they responded to the speculative reports of the AKP media over their expulsion from İmralı on 26 December evening.
The statement by Öcalan's secretariat says;
“Our evacuation from İmralı to Silivri outside our demand is not a referral but exile. Silivri prison's administration has imposed on us a communication ban and restriction of meetings with lawyers, and based this denial on 'probability of leaking out the importance of İmralı and organisational information'. If so, then we are asking them why they have taken us out of İmralı now that they feel so much afraid of such a probability. We were already out of touch and communication in İmralı. This situation reveals the fact that our removal from İmralı is aimed at Öcalan rather than us. We were welcomed with respect when we first went to İmralı as secretariat; and we had no trouble with either Öcalan or İmralı prison administration so far, contrary to claims put forward by some circles. We had pretty respectful relations. However, the same people handcuffed us in back and nearly abducted us from Öcalan. This is a message given to Öcalan rather than us. This is an open blackmail against Öcalan, giving the message 'We can easily take the secretariat out of İmralı if you do not come around to our point of view'. This message furthermore means 'We can sentence you to absolute loneliness in the same way you spent 12 years'. We do not think this act is directly related with us, and we would like the public opinion to know it this way.”
Lawyers for Arkaş and Kuran said their clients were subject to insults and threats soon after their arrival in Silivri Prison. In addition, both were banned from visit and communication for 3 months for rejecting a naked body search at arrival.
According to lawyers, Arkaş and Kuran are being held alone in two separate wards, each of which is for three persons, since their referral on 27 December. Letters written by Arkaş and Kuran from prison are not being conveyed either.
