NEWS CENTER - Families of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş held in İmralı Prison applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate for a visit.

 

Mehmet Öcalan, brother of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan who has no news from for 30 months and his legal guardian Mazlum Dinç, and other prisoners in İmralı, Ömer Hayri Konar's brother Ali Konar, Hamili Yıldırım's brother Polat Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş's sister Melihe Çetin applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate, requesting a visit. The families also applied to the Imrali Type F High Security Closed Penal Institution Directorate for a meeting through the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate.

 

OBSTACLE MEETINGS

 

The lawyers, who did not receive a positive or negative response to their applications twice a week to meet with Abdullah Öcalan, therefore made a new application to the Bursa Criminal Execution Judgeship on November 22, 2021, requesting an "immediate meeting". The judgeship rejected the application, citing the 6-month lawyer visit ban given on October 12, 2021 and the 3-month family visit ban decision given on August 18, 2021 for Abdullah Öcalan; however, lawyers were not given any information about the decisions that justified the ban.

 

 3-MONTH FAMILY VISIT BAN

 

Although the ban on family visits ended on November 18, 2021, due to the lack of any response to the families' applications to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the lawyers applied to the Bursa Execution Judgeship once again on March 28, 2022, and filed a lawsuit against all unlawful family visits. The family demanded that the obstacles be removed and the family meeting be held. Responding on March 29, the judgeship rejected the application. In its justification for rejection, the judgeship claimed that there was a new disciplinary penalty against Abdullah Öcalan and therefore the meeting could not take place.

 

In the rejection decision of the judgeship, it was stated that "The request was rejected on the grounds that all applicants were sentenced to deprivation of family visits for 3 months as a disciplinary penalty by the İmralı Disciplinary Board Presidency on February 3, 2022, and it became final on February 21."

 

APPLICATION TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

 

Following the rejection decision of the judgeship, lawyers brought the blocking of family visits with "unlawful" disciplinary penalties to the Constitutional Court (AYM) on May 12. In their application to the Constitutional Court, lawyers drew attention "incommunicado", which is the state of absolute lack of communication, and demanded that not being able to receive news is torture, and that the right to respect for family and private life, the right to defense and a fair trial, and the right to an effective remedy were violated. The Constitutional Court has not yet responded to this application.

 

OBJECTION TO FAMILY VISIT BAN

 

On the other hand, the lawyers of Asrın Law Firm applied for a meeting again after the 3-month ban on family visits for Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners ended on June 7, and requested that all obstacles imposed on family visits be removed and new disciplinary penalties, if any, be communicated to the parties. The judgeship rejected the application made by the lawyers. The judgeship cited the reason for its rejection decision as "the disciplinary penalties are still ongoing". The lawyers then appealed to the Bursa 1st High Criminal Court on June 15.

 

Responding to the objection on June 23, the court rejected the objection, citing the fact that a new 3-month disciplinary penalty was imposed on Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners by the İmralı Disciplinary Board Presidency on May 31.

 

A NEW 'PENALTY' BEFORE THE TIME ENDES

 

The 3-month ban on family visits given to Abdullah Öcalan ended on September 15. Lawyers of Asrın Law Firm applied for an opinion to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on September 16, after the ban ended. However, no response was given to the application. The lawyers then applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the İmralı Penitentiary Institution Directorate on September 23 and requested a family meeting. Bursa Execution Judgeship rejected the application made on October 5. In its justification for rejection, the judgeship claimed that the family visit ban imposed on Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners by the İmralı Disciplinary Board Presidency on September 9, claiming a 3-month disciplinary penalty, became final on September 28.

 

BEFORE CPT VISIT

 

It was noteworthy that the disciplinary punishment coincided with the visit of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to İmralı Prison. CPT announced in a statement on October 3, 2022 that it visited Turkey between 20-29 September. In the statement of the CPT, it was stated that İmralı Prison, where PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım are held, was also visited. However, no information was shared regarding the details of the visit.

 

NEW 'DISCIPLINARY PENALTY'

 

Lawyers made a new application to the Bursa Execution Judgeship on July 10, 2023, requesting the family visits of Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners Hamili Yıldırım, Veysi Aktaş and Ömer Hayri Konar. Rejecting the application on July 18, the judgeship stated that there was a new "disciplinary punishment" given against Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners, who have not been allowed to see their lawyers and families for 28 months. The judgeship, which notified the lawyers of its decision on July 19, did not provide information on the date and on what grounds the "disciplinary penalty" was given.

 

INTERRUPTED PHONE CALL

 

Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under severe isolation conditions in İmralı Prison for 24 years, was given the right to meet by phone for the first time on April 27, 2020. Öcalan spoke to his brother Mehmet Öcalan again by phone on March 25, 2021, as public concerns grew following some allegations in the social media. However, Mehmet Öcalan announced that this meeting was interrupted.

 

LAST TELEPHONE CALL

 

Rezan Sarıca and Newroz Uysal, two of Öcalan's lawyers, were last able to meet with their client after 8 years on May 2-22, June 12-18 and August 7, 2019. Öcalan was given the right to meet by phone for the first time on April 27, 2020.

 

CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ASKED FOR VISIT FROM THE MINISTRY

 

The Ministry of Justice was asked for its visit on 23 of the applications made to the Constitutional Court (AYM) by Asrın Law Firm in the last 8 years. The Ministry submitted its visit to the Constitutional Court on lawyer bans, family disciplinary bans, telephone rights, bans in İmralı during the State of Emergency (OHAL) and many similar issues.

 

ACCORDING TO THE MINISTRY, THERE IS NO 'ILL-TREATMENT'!

 

In its visit submitted to the Constitutional Court on March 24 regarding the application to prevent lawyers and family visits, the Ministry claimed that there was no "ill-treatment" in İmralı, that there were disruptions in the meetings due to "unforeseen reasons" and that this situation was "reasonable".

 

ECtHR DECISION WAS COUNTERFEITED

 

The Ministry of Justice, which gave its opinion to the Constitutional Court regarding the post-state of emergency restrictions in İmralı, this time presented the arguments in the government's "Öcalan 2" decision to the court as "ECtHR's findings". Lawyers, on the other hand, stated that the ministry falsified the ECtHR decision to legitimize the isolation.