The Galician Unions' Confederation (CIG), one of the pioneers of the global campaign for the freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, drew attention to the absolute isolation of the Öcalan and called on international institutions to act responsibly.   

The Galician Unions' Confederation (CIG) made a statement regarding the international campaign ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question’ which was launched globally on 10 October 2023. The statement by CIK, whose members displayed posters demanding freedom for the Kurdish leader, emphasised that a torturous system is applied in İmralı where Öcalan is held incommunicado and cut off from the outside world for years. No news has been received from Öcalan for 43 months as he has been denied his most fundamental right to see his family members and lawyers.

Noting that the unresolved Kurdish question in Turkey has created conflict and political instability in the region, CIG said: “This leads to civil and political rights violations, loss of thousands of lives, occupation, racism, oppression of women, religious intolerance, economic exploitation and environmental destruction.”

Pointing out that the conditions under which Abdullah Öcalan is being held violate conventions and agreements against torture, the statement continued: “We call on the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee of Ministers, the UN Human Rights Committee and relevant bodies to take the necessary steps to ensure that the necessary measures are taken to prevent torture and ill-treatment. We call on them to take the necessary steps to ensure that Abdullah Öcalan is initially allowed to meet with his lawyers and family, and ultimately released on conditions that will allow him to play a role in the search for a just and democratic political solution to the decades-long Kurdish question in Turkey.”

After the statement, members and executives of the Confederation chanted the slogan ‘Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan’ with the banners of the international campaign.