1524 attorneys from 35 countries around the world signed a petition calling for action to secure the rights of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan who has been held in total isolation and has not been heard from for 42 months. Abdullah Öcalan was last visited by his lawyers in 2019, while his last family visit was in 2020. In March 2021, a wave of international protests enabled a telephone conversation between Öcalan and his brother, but it was interrupted after a few minutes for unknown reasons. Since then, there has been no sign of life from Öcalan and his three fellow prisoners in İmralı Island Prison, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş. Requests for visits from the Istanbul-based Asrın Law Office, which represents the four Imrali prisoners, have all been rejected by the Turkish judiciary, and requests for information remain unanswered. As a legal cover, extended disciplinary penalties are imposed in the prison system every six months. International initiatives to lift the isolation on Imrali are also ignored in Ankara.

On behalf of the signatories of the petition, representatives of legal organisations held a press conference in Brussels. The meeting was organised by the Association for Democracy and International Law (MAF-DAD), the Brussels Bar Association, the Brussels Bar Institute for Human Rights, the European Lawyers' Association for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH) and the European Democratic Lawyers (AED).

At the press conference held at the Brussels Press Club, it was pointed out that this initiative was taken with the demand to ensure the right to meet Abdullah Öcalan. 

The speakers emphasised that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) had also been alerted and that the situation in İmralı was described by lawyers worldwide as a special and discriminatory form of isolation.

Hélène Debaty: The situation in İmralı is extremely horrible

Speaking at the meeting at the Press Club, AED President Hélène Debaty stated that they were very closely interested in the situation in İmralı and said, “The situation in İmralı is extremely horrible.” Debaty stated that they once again asked about the situation in İmralı with more than 1500 signatures.

Heike Geisweid: The recommendations of the CPT and the Penal Execution Law are violated

MAF-DAD Co-president Heike Geisweid gave information about the unlawful treatment in İmralı and the obstacles to visits. Geisweid stated that the recommendations of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the Penal Execution Law No. 5275 are clearly violated and emphasised that, “States are obliged to ensure that detainees and convicts are able to exercise their rights regardless of their identity and the nature of the sentence they are serving.”

Yves Oschinsky: We focus on the defence rights and protection of lawyers in Turkey

Yves Oschinsky from the Brussels Bar Association and the Bar Institute for Human Rights stated that they focused on defence rights and protection of lawyers in Turkey and emphasised the importance of the right to defence, even at a minimum level. Oschinsky reminded the international law and conventions that secure the right to defence and drew attention to Turkey's violations of international law. Oschinsky underlined the importance of international support for lawyers and continued support for the Kurdish people.

Thomas Schmidt: Turkey is ignoring the rights of prisoners

ELDH Secretary General Thomas Schmidt said international organisations agree that Turkey is ignoring the rights of prisoners. Schmidt stated that the European Union should put pressure on Turkey to ensure the access of lawyers to İmralı. Pointing out the absolute lack of communication in İmralı, he remarked that the recommendations of the CPT were ignored by the Turkish state. Schmidt stated that western governments and the European Union in particular should express reactions to ensure the possibility of talks.

The petition addressed to the Turkish Ministry of Justice reads as follows:

“Dear Minister,

Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş, who are detained in the İmralı F-Type High Security Prison, are unlawfully prevented from seeing their lawyers. While Abdullah Öcalan has not been allowed to see his lawyer since August 7, 2019, Veysi Aktaş, Hamili Yıldırım and Ömer Hayri Konar have not been allowed to see their lawyers even once since 2015, when they were transferred to İmralı Island.

A special and discriminatory form of isolation has been applied in İmralı Prison since February 15, 1999. The ban on lawyer visits has been in effect continuously for 8 years since July 27, 2011, until May 2, 2019. In 2019, 5 lawyer visits took place. After the last lawyer visit on August 7, 2019, the ban was resumed.

It has to be stated that Öcalan has not been heard from since a last short phone call took place on March 25, 2021. This constitutes a worrying circumstance. As lawyers closely following affairs in Turkey, we are well aware of the political and social impact of this situation. In its report on its 2019 visit to the İmralı Prison, published on 5 August 2020, the CPT considered the total ban on Öcalan’s and the other three inmates’ contacts with the outside world as a type of incommunicado imprisonment. The CPT stated that such a state of affairs was unacceptable and contravened relevant international human rights instruments and standards.

The continuous interference with the right to defense and the state of isolation imposed on Öcalan and the other inmates have prompted statements by international law organizations such as ELDH, AED, and Lawyer for Lawyers and critical reactions by a wide network of lawyers on different occasions.

We would like to remind you that on January 22, 2024, 1330 lawyers registered to 35 different Bar Associations applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office with the request to have lawyer visits with Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, Mr. Hamili Yıldırım, Mr. Ömer Hayri Konar and Mr. Veysi Aktaş by putting an end to the illegal ban on lawyer visits in İmralı Prison. Additionally, Veysi Aktaş, despite completing the execution of his 30-year sentence on April 28, 2024, has not been granted the legally mandated parole right. His release has been postponed for 1 year by the Decision of the Observation Board. His lawyers have also been completely excluded from this process.

The ban on lawyer visits to İmralı Prison clearly violates the United Nations (UN) Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules) updated in 2015, the recommendations of the CPT and Turkey’s Execution Law (Law No. 5275). States have an obligation to ensure that detainees and prisoners are able to exercise their rights regardless of their identity and the nature of their sentence.

It is also a violation of the rights and privileges of lawyers as set out in the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, in particular Basic Principles 8 and 16.

Basic Principle 8 is very clear: “All arrested, detained or imprisoned persons shall be provided with adequate opportunities, time and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult with a lawyer, without delay, interception or censorship and in full confidentiality. Such consultations may be within sight, but not within the hearing, of law enforcement officials.” Similarly, Basic Principle 16 also states that Governments shall ensure that lawyers are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference and to travel and to consult with their clients freely both within their own country and abroad.

Pursuant to Article 25 of the Regulation on Visits of Convicted and Detained Persons, foreign lawyers – even without a power of attorney – have the right to see a convicted person in Turkey, provided that they comply with international conventions to which the Republic of Turkey is a party and the principle of reciprocity.

The enduring efforts of our colleagues in Turkey against the isolation and violation of the right to defense is essentially a struggle for the implementation of the rights protected in international conventions to which Turkey is a party, especially the European Convention on Human Rights.

On April 30, 2024, in the response provided by the General Directorate of Prisons and Detention Houses, affiliated with your ministry, to the application of DEM party deputies; it was stated that there is no obstacle to the visits of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners with their lawyers. We hope that by allowing our colleagues in Turkey, to meet with Öcalan, you will demonstrate the accuracy of this information to the international legal community.

Therefore, we also submit to you our joint application to visit Abdullah Öcalan and the other prisoners held in İmralı, Veysi Aktaş, Hamili Yıldırım, and Ömer Hayri Konar, within the scope of Article 25 of mentioned Regulation.”