Lawyer Michela Arricale, a member of the Research Center for Democracy in Italy, is also a supporter of the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, Political Solution to the Kurdish Question" initiative, which was launched on 9 October to end the aggravated isolation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Lawyer Michela Arricale, who is also the co-chair of the International Legal Intervention Group, said: "It is clearly a violation of the principles of International Criminal Law, apart from any national and international legality. In fact, a new word was invented at the Council of Europe level to talk about Öcalan's isolation. He is not in isolation but 'incomunicado'."

Against modern law rules

Arricale said about the CPT's attitude of not disclosing the Imrali report that "the lack of news for such a long time leads to a rule of law that takes us back to the days when the sovereigns had the power of life and death over all their citizens. It is a situation totally outside of international law."

Lawyer Arricale said that they will put pressure on the CPT and added: "We are currently trying to do this internationally at the level of the Lawyers Union in the Council of Europe. The CPT should at least disclose the report they keep secret. We must continue to do what we can for both Abdullah Öcalan and the other three political prisoners in Imralı and support their lawyers when they question their current conditions of detention. We must act within these institutional and judicial contexts."

We must take action

Lawyer Arricale pointed out that international legal standards must be interpreted correctly to achieve Öcalan's freedom, and added: "We must take action and push for the correct interpretation of international standards that will lead to his immediate release. This is the essence of our current struggle. This struggle will take place both within the country and at the level of European progressive lawyers."