The Association for Solidarity with the Families of Prisoners (TUAD) held a press conference in front of Istanbul's Forensic Medicine Institution in Yenibosna to demand the urgent release of ill prisoners in Turkish jails.

Speaking at the press conference here, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Istanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel said that Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan should be released for the achievement of a lasting solution to the Kurdish question.

Tuncel called on the ruling AKP government to take steps for the democratic solution process for the removal of the obstacles to democratic politics, remarking that Kurdish leader Öcalan has fulfilled his responsibilities for the achievement of the negotiation process for peace and democracy. Referring to the statements of deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay who had criticized the BDP for taking to the streets recently, Tuncel pointed out that BDP was protesting because it demanded the practice of the amendments and arrangements required by the peace process, as well as an answer to Lice attack. “We would not be taking to the streets if the government didn't fail to take these steps. The Kurdish people have a tradition of resisting to victory. This is what we will be doing from now on as well”, she underlined.

Tuncel also pointed out that the ongoing process can make no headway unless the government takes confidence building steps. She said Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan should be released for the achievement of a lasting solution to the Kurdish question. "The government should in advance put this point on its agenda considering the fact that the freedom of a people cannot be ensured without the liberation of their leader. This truth is known to the whole world, as well as to the AKP government", she added.

The press conference continued with statements that put emphasis on the demands for the urgent release of all ill inmates as well as some ten thousand Kurdish politicians jailed in Turkish jails, the ending of dam and military post constructions in the Kurdish region, and urgent steps by the government for the accomplishment of the democratic solution process led by Abdullah Öcalan.