691 lawyers from Northern and Eastern Syria, Tartus, Aleppo, Homs and Latakia sent a letter to the Turkish Ministry of Justice demanding a visit with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The letter was read in front of the Social Justice Assembly in Qamishlo.

Lawyers demanded that the isolation on Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan be lifted and that an opportunity for a visit be provided.

The Kurdish version of the letter was read by Roja Xelef, a member of the North and East Syria Lawyers' Union, while the Arabic version of the letter was read by Xufran Xelef, co-chair of the Cizre District Lawyers Union.

The letter reads as follows:

“We are following with concern the situation of Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım, who are held in Imralı. There has been no news from Mr. Öcalan for over a year.

Lawyers have been prevented from visiting Abdullah Öcalan since 27 July 2011. There is no legal argument for this prohibition. This is against democratic standards.

The other three prisoners in Imrali have not been allowed to meet with their lawyers since they were transferred to Imrali in 2015. This is related to the political-legal approach of the central government towards the prisoners in the Imrali prison.

Our family and colleagues are also concerned that they have not heard from Abdullah Öcalan since the last phone call on 25 March 2021. As lawyers, we are well aware of the political and social effects of this situation.

In its 2019 report on the Imralı Dungeon, the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) stated that the ban on Öcalan and 3 other prisoners is unlawful.

The isolation on Öcalan caused international institutions such as ELDH, AED and Lawyer for Lawyers to make statements. In addition, a wide network of lawyers in many fields was critical of this attitude. This shows how important this case is and how widely it is followed.

As lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners, we ask permission to visit him in order to contribute to the lifting of the ban on the right to defense. We hope that we will get the necessary permission to carry out the visit.”