Since March 2021, there has been no sign of life from the prison island of Imrali, where Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and three other fellow prisoners are completely isolated. Kurds and solidarity activists around the world are protesting for Öcalan's freedom and the lifting of isolation. Total solitary confinement violates the ban on torture. Such a violation should lead to consequences at the level of the Council of Europe, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and on the part of the European states. But hardly anything happens. Again and again, members of the Bundestag, German Parliament, also ask about the government's position on the situation on Imrali. MP Gökay Akbulut (DIE LINKE) asked the German government about its knowledge of Öcalan's isolation and to what extent the German government would support a visit by the CPT to Imrali.

Federal Government: No engagement with the CPT

The answer states: "The Federal Government has no knowledge of its own regarding the state of health of the imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan. Furthermore, the Federal Government is of the opinion that the independent European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment must decide which detention cases it takes as a reason for a detention visit."

Akbulut: "The government prioritises interests over international human rights"

Akbulut said, "The Foreign Office is shirking an answer. With the change of government in Germany, especially from a Green Foreign Minister, many opposition activists in Turkey expected more support. Unfortunately, this expectation has so far remained unfulfilled. I have the impression that geopolitical interests take precedence over international human rights for the German government. In 2019, the then SPD-led Foreign Office gave a far more nuanced answer to a similar question. It also communicated its concern about human rights for detainees in Turkey."

Answer falls short of Merkel government

The answer of the Federal Government goes far behind the answer of the Federal Government to a similar question of the MP Michel Brandt (DIE LINKE) and speaks for a massive approach of the Federal Government towards the AKP/MHP regime. As recently as 2019, the German government replied with regard to a CPT report: "The Turkish government is called upon to allow visits by relatives and legal counsel and to reduce restrictions on prisoners' contact with each other. The Federal Government welcomes these demands." This clearly shows that the current federal government is even more interested in appeasement towards Turkish fascism against the background of the Ukraine war.

"The current government ignores the conditions on Imrali"

Akbulut announced that she would take further action herself: "Of course, I am not satisfied with the answer now. I will write to the German representative at the CPT, Dr Gunda Wössner. The isolation of Öcalan and his fellow prisoners imprisoned on Imrali is unacceptable. In its last report, the CPT called on the Turkish government to allow visits by relatives and legal counsel. They also called for restrictions on prisoners' contact with each other to be removed. These demands were welcomed by the previous federal government, while the current federal government ignores the condition of the detainees on Imrali."

CPT visits have so far remained inconsequential

In fact, the CPT also inspected Imrali during an ad hoc visit in September. However, it has not yet taken a position on the situation there. The CPT's report is not expected to be completed for at least six months. The report will then only be published with Turkey's consent. The advocacy team of the prisoners on Imrali recalls the CPT's approach during its last visit, saying, "The CPT did not publish the report on its last visit in May 2019 until 15 months later. It stated that serious steps should be taken, in particular with regards to liaison with the outside world. However, following the CPT's visit, the isolation policy towards our clients on Imrali Island continued and the isolation was further exacerbated, although an improvement should have been made in line with the recommendations made in the visit reports."