In light of rumors that Abdullah Öcalan has died in prison, a protest took place in Qamishlo in front of the UN headquarters. The organization was called to action for communication with the PKK founder to be enabled.
Protests against the isolation on the Turkish prison island of Imrali have been held in front of the United Nations (UN) headquarters in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishlo. The background to this is worrying news about the health situation of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held as a political hostage on Imrali since 1999 and, according to rumors on social networks, is believed to have died.
The organizing committee of the rally in Qamishlo demanded that the UN as a fully recognized subject of international law, whose responsibilities include the protection of human rights in addition to the safeguarding of international peace and the observance of international law, act urgently to ensure that Öcalan's family members as well as his lawyers are granted their right to receive information about his health condition.
"Öcalan, like every other person, has the right to life and physical integrity. This fundamental right is being curtailed from him on Imrali. We demand the immediate opening of communication channels," a statement read outside the UN headquarters said. Öcalan is considered a political representative by the Kurdish people and also by the other peoples of northern and eastern Syria, it said, because he is the architect of the democratic model of society that is lived there. "Our very first demand is therefore that he be released." The statement stressed that the protests in Rojava would continue as long as no news from Imrali reaches the public.
