Since the Asrin Law Office stated at the end of November that the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) probably had no personal contact with Abdullah Öcalan during its last visit to Turkey in September, concern for the life and safety of the Kurdish leader has increased. The Kurdish European Confederation KCDK-E is demanding clarification about the CPT's visit to the Turkish prison island of Imrali and information about Abdullah Öcalan's condition. A three-day sit-in action was launched yesterday, December 7, in front of the CPT building in Strasbourg. On the first day of the action, Kurdish activists from Switzerland and exiled politicians from Turkey living in Europe took part in the action.

On its second day, the action was taken over by Kurds from Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Mainz, Gissen, Mannheim, Hanau, Saarbrücken and Rüsselsheim cities of Germany, as well as Kurdish politicians in exile.

Speaking here, FCDK-KAWA Federation Co-Chair Mehmet Çoban stated that they would carry their actions to a higher level and turn everywhere into a scene of uprising unless lawyers are enabled access to Imrali.

Kurdish author and politician Aziz Tunç called on the CPT to put an end to this unclarity which, he said, is killing the Kurdish people every day.

“What is happening at Imrali? Why did the CPT give the impression that a meeting took place at Imrali, which was not the case as it later came out? What is the purpose of this information pollution?” Tunç asked.

KOMAW Darmstadt representative Murşide Oltan vowed to keep their protests going until lawyers meet with Öcalan.