PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s brother Osman Öcalan loses his life

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Osman Öcalan, the brother of imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan, has reportedly lost his life in Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Rûdaw news website has announced that Öcalan died while he was in treatment at a hospital for health problems related to COVID-19.

The Kurdish media previously reported that Osman Öcalan had a stroke in July; but his family dismissed these allegations.

About Osman Öcalan

He was born in the Amara (Ömerli) village in the Halfeti district in Urfa in 1958. Using the "Ferhad" code name, Osman Öcalan had lived in Libya for 2 years and had been trained in a teachers' college before he joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

He joined the PKK Central Committee in 1986 and the PKK Steering Committed in the 1990s. He was dismissed and arrested later on on the grounds that he caused the organization to incur losses and signed a ceasefire with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (YNK) without the knowledge of the organization.

He was put on trial at the courts of the organization and sentenced to prison. In a form of penalization called isolation by the organization, Osman Öcalan was kept in a cave for two years.

After Abdullah Öcalan was brought to Turkey and arrested, Osman Öcalan took over the organization's management and was elected to the presidents' council. He started defending that the PKK should introduce reforms.

It caused further reactions and objections when he ran for the organization's leadership position in the new organization that was founded after the dissolution of the PKK. Amid these reactions, Osman Öcalan, along with a large group, abandoned the organization in 2013.

Having settled in the Ranya village near Erbil, Öcalan founded a new organization called the Patriotic Democratic Party (PWD). Leaving this organization as well, Osman Öcalan went into business.

TRT broadcast sparked criticisms

Before the İstanbul repeat local election on June 23, 2019, Osman Öcalan spoke to TRT Kurdî, the Kurdish edition of Turkey's state-run TV. Öcalan criticized İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) during the broadcast.

This broadcast, coupled with the allegations that Osman Öcalan was wanted with a red notice, sparked harsh criticisms and reactions.

Speaking about the broadcast, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, "Frankly speaking, I didn't know that Osman Öcalan was wanted with a red notice. But if he applied to the TRT and the TRT Kurdî did such a broadcast, our friends at the TRT must know about this. I believe that our friends at that institution take steps with this sensitivity because I trust them about these issues."

It was last year when Osman Öcalan spoke about the TRT broadcast for the first time. To the question, "Who contacted you about speaking to the TRT," he said, "The offer came from the TRT." In response to the question, "Are you being sought with a red notice," he said, "A red notice is not the case. I do not encounter any unfavorable situations in my life." (TP/SD)