Imprisoned for more than 24 years on the prison island of Imrali, the Kurdish people's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has been held incommunicado for 33 months now, without any contact with the outside world. The complete lack of information regarding the situation of Öcalan and his three fellow prisoners – Hamili Yıldırım, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş – raises growing concerns about their safety and health. Countless requests for visits filed for years by the lawyers and families of Imrali detainees have gone unanswered.

Kurdish and internationalist activists staged a civil disobedience action in front of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Wednesday to protest the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and demand his physical freedom.

In a statement about their action, the activists reminded the Council of Europe of its missions and duties and criticized its failure with regard to the protection of human rights and taking action against violations of human rights.

The demonstrators provided information about the conditions of Abdullah Öcalan and other political prisoners in Turkey, pointing to reports denouncing torture and inhumane treatment in prisons.

The activists asked to see a detailed report from the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) which visited Imrali last September.

The demonstrators also demanded to learn about the details of Tuesday’s meeting between Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, asking if the human rights violations and the absolute isolation of Abdullah Öcalan were among the matters discussed.

“Is the Council of Europe aware of Öcalan’s situation and why does it share no information?” they also asked.

The protesters called for the Committee of Ministers to discuss the situation of Abdullah Öcalan during the next meeting. They demanded an end to the isolation of Öcalan, his physical freedom, a solution to the Kurdish Question in the Middle East and dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan.

The activists were taken into custody by the police as they continued their action. Subjected to violence and held in handcuffs, the demonstrators chanted the slogans “Bijî Serok Apo” [Long Live Leader Öcalan] and “Bê Serok Jiyan Nabe” [No Life Without the Leader].

Concerns over the situation of Öcalan increased after the Executive Council Member of the Kurdistan Democratic Communities Union (KCK), Sabri Ok said in an interview on the Kurdish TV Channel Sterk TV on July 8 that threatening letters had recently been sent to Abdullah Öcalan anonymously via the Imrali prison administration.

Lawyers are requesting to meet with Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan twice a week. However, applications for visits are systematically left unanswered. In some cases, months later, lawyers are informed that disciplinary action has been taken against the Kurdish people's leader and therefore no visit can be granted.

Conditions of extraordinary isolation

The Imralı F Type High Security Closed Prison, where Abdullah Öcalan has been held since February 1999,  has since been operated based on a special status and through special practices.

Under the so-called aggravated execution regime, Abdullah Öcalan and his fellow prisoners, Hamili Yildirim, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş, have been held under conditions of extraordinary isolation for a long time, 24 years in terms of Öcalan and eight years each in terms of other inmates.

Despite all their attempts, lawyers from the Istanbul-based Asrin Law Office, which represents Abdullah Öcalan and his three fellow prisoners, have not been able to receive even a single sign of life from their clients since 25 March 2021. They could not obtain any information regarding their health status, their detention conditions, their legal situation in 2022. It has been 33 months that their clients have not been heard from in any way.

Öcalan held in a single cell since 1999

According to the “2022 Annual Assessment Report on Rights Violations and the Current Conditions in Imrali Island Prison” released by Asrın Law Office on 15 February 2023, Abdullah Öcalan has been held in a single cell in İmralı Island Prison since 15 February 1999. For the first ten years, he was the only prisoner in the island prison. In November 2009, new cells were added to the prison and five other prisoners were brought in. Nevertheless, Öcalan continued to be kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day on weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends.

Until 2011, Öcalan’s right to see his lawyers was limited to one hour one day a week, but in fact, he was constantly prevented from availing himself of this limited right, with the authorities alleging the pretext of “adverse weather conditions” or a “technical defect” of the coaster going to the island. In the twelve years since 27 July 2011, he has only been able to see his lawyer five times, between May and August 2019. The last of these five meetings took place on 7 August 2019.

Since 2014, Öcalan has received five visits from family members. His brother’s visit to the prison on 3 March 2020 marks Öcalan’s last direct contact with his family. Also, in 24 years, he communicated with the outside world via telephone on only two occasions (on 27 April 2020 and 25 March 2021). During the last phone call on 25 March 2021, the connection was lost after only two minutes and could not be restored. Öcalan has not been heard from since.