Dilek Öcalan, niece of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, visited her uncle for the first time on İmralı island. On her return she said that Mr Öcalan had told her that: "Our talks are continuing with the state delegation. The latest talks are going well. The fact they are progressing in this way is positive."

On 23 December Abdullah Öcalan's sister Fatma Öcalan, his niece Dilek Öcalan and Pervin Oduncu, the executor of Cumali Karsu, who is one of the prisoners in the İmralı F Type High Security Prison, went to the island for a family visit.

Dilek Öcalan gave details of the visit to DİHA.

Dilek Öcalan said there were many questions she had been unable to ask on account of the shortage of time and the excitement of seeing her uncle for the first time, adding that Mr Öcalan had said as regards the continuing resolution process that "talks are continuing with the state delegation. These talks are progressing well." Dilek Öcalan said she had asked her uncle about the photographs that have been published, adding that he had replied: "they are not good photos, and were not published by our friends."

Dilek said that when the visit began Mr Öcalan had told them time was short and asked them to sit down. She said: "The President was there waiting. First my mother went in, then I went into the room and we greeted each other. I was seeing him for the first time but he looked well."

Öcalan's niece said that while on previous visits she had been told that there had been a round table in the room, on this occasion there was a table that split the room into two. "I gather there used to be more chance of contact, but we were only able on this occasion to stand up and extend our hands in greeting."

She added that Mr Öcalan had started by explaining memories to her, saying: "He told me how he left home to go to school. He said: 'I started the struggle at the age of 8. I walked to Nizip by myself and I was very angry.' Then he asked me how old I was and when I said I was 25, he said it was an appropriate age to get involved in political activity."

Dilek Öcalan said the Kurdish People's Leader had sent greetings to everyone, in particular women and young people, and that he had wished success to women and young people in their organisational work.