Abdullah Öcalan's brother Mehmet Öcalan and his lawyer Mazlum Dinç have  applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office to be granted a visit to Imralı Island where the Kurdish leader has been held since 1999.

On March 14 rumours spread on social media claiming that Öcalan had died in prison. Immediately protests were organised around the world demanding an urgent visit by the lawyers to Imrali.

On March 25, Öcalan was able to talk with his brother Mehmet Öcalan. The short phone conversation happened about a year after a previous call, on 27 April 2020, and it is the first time since then that Öcalan had an actual contact with someone outside.

The phone conversation was held under the supervision of the Urfa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and was very short. The call was interrupted pretty soon. Likewise, the phone call by another prisoner on Imrali, Hamili Yıldırım, with his family was also abruptly interrupted. It was reported that the other two prisoners, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş, did not make the phone call they were offered to protest isolation.

A number of applications have been filed by the lawyers and family members of Öcalan since March 14 for an “urgent meeting” with the Kurdish leader. Two separate applications have been submitted to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).