Minister Bozdağ: No Problems with Öcalan’s Health or Security

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Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan is secure and healthy.

Bozdağ was answering political party and civil society organizations which had said they had been unable to get news from Öcalan for 510 days.

“Baseless information is being circulated around Abdullah Öcalan’s health and security”, said Bozdağ, denying that there was any problem with either.

Bozdağ said: “The security measures there [İmrali Prison] are at the highest level, and after July 15 [coup attempt] the prison’s security measures have been reviewed.”

The Justice Minister added that a delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) had met with Öcalan from 28-29 April.

Demirtaş: Confrontation in İmralı

People’s Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş made the comments about not being able to get news from Öcalan at the opening of Van Metropolitan Municipality’s services building on September 2. Demirtaş said that during the July 15 coup attempt there had been a confrontation in the İmralı Prison on İmralı İsland, in which Öcalan is imprisoned.

"We haven’t been able to get news for 510 days”

The Democratic Society Congress (DTK), People’s Democratic Congress (HDK), Free Women’s Congress (Kongreya Jinên Azad/KJA), Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and HDP had said in a joint statement on August 31 that their attempts to meet with Öcalan had been obstructed.

Stating that the groups had been unable to get news from Öcalan for 510 days, the statement announced that if no meeting was provided with Öcalan within the framework of the legal rules, 50 volunteers would begin an indefinite hunger strike from September 5. (HK/PS)