After 31 years behind bars, Kurdish political prisoner Abdullah Aksu has been released from Izmir T Type Closed Prison No. 3 on Tuesday.

Aksu was welcomed by family members and EGE-TUHAYDER executives outside the prison.

In a short statement after his release, Aksu said he was happy to regain his freedom, but expressed concerns over the situation of sick prisoners.

"I hope that all prisoners will be released. The leader (Abdullah Öcalan) has opened the way to peace. I am hopeful, I hope peace will be achieved in a short time, our friends will be released and we will meet in a free country,” he stated.

The Kurdish political prisoner then left for his hometown, Siirt, with his family.

Abdullah Aksu was imprisoned in Siirt in 1994. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Diyarbakır State Security Court (DGM) for “disrupting the unity and integrity of the state”. He served his sentence in Siirt, Antep, Diyarbakır and Şakran prisons.