As part of hunger strike actions in prisons demanding an end to the aggravated isolation regime imposed upon Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, inspired by DTK co-chair and HDP MP Leyla Güven who is on the 69th day of her fast, 4 prisoners in Van High Security Prison have been on an indefinite and non-alternate hunger strike since December 16, 2018.

The four PKK prisoners, Cihan Tamur, Barış Kahraman, Şahin Öncü, Azim Sökemen and Bahtiyar Kemal Hasan, sent a message through their relatives, announcing that their hunger strike will continue until the isolation on Öcalan is totally lifted.

In the meantime, one of the prisoners on indefinite and non-alternate hunger strike, Bahtiyar Kemal Hasan, has been put in solitary confinement.

After reports that Öcalan met his brother in Imralı on Saturday, PKK and PAJK prisoners, as well as the hunger strikers in Strasbourg announced that they will continue their actions as the 15 minutes long family visit did not mean ending of the isolation, calling for Öcalan to be provided with free conditions of living and working immediately.

Ilhan Sis, on an indefinite and non-alternate hunger strike in Wales for 30 days, also announced that he will continue his action. Sis said: “The statements made by the KCK administration, prisoners and the Freedom for Öcalan Initiative in Strasbourg following the reports of meeting, evaluated the 15 minutes long meeting to be as part of the AKP-MHP regime’s special war tactics implemented as they come up against a brick wall. For these reasons, I, like other activists, will also continue my indefinite and non-alternate hunger strike until the strict isolation is lifted.”