Application to Ministry of Justice by 1330 lawyers from 35 bar associations

1330 lawyers from 35 bar associations, who applied to the Ministry of Justice, demanded the end of the isolation imposed on PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is in prison on the İmralı Island.

A press statement was held today in front of the Diyarbakır Courthouse regarding the application, which includes the signatures of legal organizations, including the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD), and many bar association member lawyers.

According to the news from Mezapotamya Agency, Members of Parliament from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), George Aslan, Saliha Aydeniz, and Serhat Eren, along with Newroz Uysal Aslan, Dilan Kunt Ayan, and Cengiz Çiçek, also participated in the statement.

Reading the joint statement, Ekin Yeter, Co-Chair of ÖHD, drew attention to the isolation on İmralı Island:

"Abdullah Öcalan, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım, and Veysi Aktaş, held in İmralı F Type High-Security Prison, are unlawfully prevented from meeting with their lawyers. Since August 7, 2019, Öcalan has not been allowed to meet with his lawyers, and Aktaş, Yıldırım, and Konar have been denied access to their lawyers since their transfer to İmralı Island in 2015."

The ban on lawyer visits was consistently enforced from July 27, 2011, until May 2, 2019, for a period of 8 uninterrupted years. In 2019, lawyer visits were allowed five times, but after the last lawyer visit on August 7, 2019, the continuous prohibition was reinstated.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) stated in its report released on August 5, 2020, based on its visit to İmralı Prison in 2019, that there was a complete ban on external contacts for Öcalan and the other three detainees. The CPT evaluated this situation as a form of absolute incommunicado, emphasizing that such a condition is unacceptable and contrary to relevant international human rights instruments and standards.

"Law on Execution of Sentences being violated"

The prohibition of lawyer visits to İmralı Prison not only blatantly violates the Law on Execution of Sentences No. 5275 but is also inconsistent with international rules and human rights conventions.

States are obligated to ensure the exercise of rights for detainees and prisoners, regardless of their identity and the nature of their sentences. Turkey is not exempt from this obligation.

"No response to the 2022 application"

According to local and international legal and ethical standards, lawyers should be able to carry out their professional activities and meet with their clients without facing any pressure, hindrance, harassment, or corrupt intervention.

As lawyers, we, 775 registered lawyers from 29 different bar associations across Turkey, had requested the realization of lawyer visits by applying to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the İmralı Prison Administration in 2022, against the news blackout situation created by illegal and restrictive decisions. Despite the applications made in 2022 by hundreds of lawyers, including bar association presidents, there has been no response to our request.

Following this, 350 lawyers from 22 different countries, especially European countries, applied on September 14, 2022, and 756 lawyers from the Middle East applied on September 19, 2022, to the Ministry of Justice, expressing their desire to meet with the prisoners in İmralı Island Prison and demanding an end to the ongoing violation situations. However, these requests have also been left unanswered.

The efforts of lawyers against the prolonged isolation and violations of the right to defense are essentially a struggle for the implementation of rights protected by international treaties and rules to which Turkey is a party, including the European Convention on Human Rights. (AS/PE)