Lawyer Cemal Demir said that the CPT should initiate an urgent investigation and make all the results public, and added that there is an emergency and there is no need to ignore the permission of the Turkish government.

While there has been no news from Abdullah Öcalan for 22 months, the applications made by the lawyers of Asrın Law Office have not been answered. Lawyer Cemal Demir reminded the necessity of keeping every prisoner in an environment worthy of human dignity, according to domestic law and international conventions, and said: “The legal system of the Turkish state is also subject to international law. The isolation of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan continues uninterruptedly. Despite the CPT's reports, the Turkish government has never backed down from the isolation. As it is known, there has been no physical contact with Mr. Abdullah Öcalan since March 2020.”

An extraordinary situation

Underlining the uncertainty about the last CPT Imrali visit, Demir continued: "This is not acceptable. It is among the absolute duties of the CPT to examine the isolation conditions that Mr. Abdullah Öcalan is kept in. The CPT does not fulfill this duty. The fact that the CPT did not fulfill its duty in this way actually raises doubts about the institution. The CPT should immediately initiate an investigation into the island. This review should be disclosed to the public. There is an extraordinary situation here.”

Isolation must end immediately

Demir said: “Mr. Öcalan is not just any person. That's why the anxiety is great. So to speak, society is on its toes. The community wants to be informed as soon as possible. Breaking the isolation will be an important turning point for both domestic and Middle Eastern politics. That's why the isolation needs to be ended urgently."