Hakan Bozkurt, co-chair of the Wan (Van) branch of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom, said that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society" has revitalised the hope for peace in Turkey. Bozkurt said that in order for this hope to become permanent, the state should guarantee freedom of thought and expression, end the isolation policy on Abdullah Öcalan and make urgent legal arrangements for the release of ill prisoners.

 

Bozkurt stated that the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on the violation of Abdullah Öcalan's "right to hope" and isolation are obligations under international law that Turkey must comply with, and added that isolation is against the principles of the rule of law and cannot be made a subject of negotiation. Bozkurt stated that Article 47 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and the Execution Law prevent the implementation of the "right to hope" in aggravated life imprisonment sentences and that it is necessary to make a legal regulation on this issue, and reminded that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe gave Turkey until September 2025 to make a regulation on hope.

 

Bozkurt stated that the call proposed an ecological and women's libertarian democratic order in accordance with the multicultural structure of Mesopotamia and Anatolia and said that the call was a response to the demands for peace and solution of the society tired of antidemocratic practices. Bozkurt said, "There is hope for dialogue among the peoples, even among the most nationalist sections. However, this hope can only be strengthened with the steps to be taken by the state."

 

SOLUTION PROPOSALS FOR ILL PRISONERS

 

Bozkurt emphasised that the solution to the problem of ill prisoners is one of the first goodwill steps to be taken by the state in order to strengthen the hope for peace. Bozkurt stated that it is impossible to treat sick prisoners in the current situation and said, "Even if reports are obtained from full-fledged hospitals, the contrary decisions of the Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) or the obstructions of the execution institutions prevent prisoners from accessing treatment. There are people who lose their lives in this process. It is necessary to establish an independent and impartial supervision mechanism and to ensure that sick prisoners receive treatment in appropriate hospital conditions during the application period. Humane conditions must be ensured in hospitals and arbitrary interventions of execution institutions must be prevented."

 

'DISAPPOINTMENTS OF THE LAST DECADE AND NEW HOPE'

 

Bozkurt stated that there were improvements in the use of the right to freedom of thought and expression with the dialogue process carried out between 2013 and 2015, which created hope in the society, but with the end of the process, repression increased and demands for peace were silenced through the judiciary. "In the last 10 years, society's capacity to speak has weakened. Öcalan's call can reverse this pessimistic picture, but the state and democratic components need to take responsibility," he said. 

 

Bozkurt emphasised that the nation-state paradigm, which is contrary to the multicultural structure of Turkey, has created moral, ecological and economic crises for a century and added, "The construction of a democratic law is essential to overcome these crises. The gains of the 2013-2015 process should be revived and even the most opposing views should be able to establish dialogue. The state can make a positive contribution to the process by taking steps in accordance with human rights standards and it is a historical responsibility for all parties. Practices, reports and application mechanisms that violate the right to life and access rights should be abolished and replaced with an independent, impartial and effective application mechanism."

 

MA / Ozlem Yacan