British-based Peace in Kurdistan has sent a letter to Alan Mitchell, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) asking them to send a delegation immediately to meet with Abdullah Öcalan, and to encourage Turkey to comply with their obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and allow visits from his family and lawyers.
The letter, which we reproduce in full below, was signed by Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Simon Dubbins (Unite the Union), Prof Michael Gunter, Prof Bill Bowring, Prof Mary Davis, Chris Stephens MP (SNP), Chris Hazzard MP (Sinn Féin), Mickey Brady MP (Sinn Féin), Kate Osamar MP (Labour), John McDonnell MP (Labour), and dozens of academics, trade unionists, writers, and journalists.
We, the concerned members of a network in the United Kingdom comprising various trade unions, Members of Parliament, human rights activists, lawyers, and civil society organisations, are writing to you to make an urgent appeal that requires your immediate consideration.
For the past 36 months, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is seen by millions of Kurds as their legitimate political representative, has been held in an extreme form of incommunicado detention by the Turkish state on the prison island of Imrali. During this illegal and inhumane isolation, Mr. Öcalan has effectively been “disappeared” and dropped into a void of “non-existence,” as he is being denied all contact with the outside world, including his lawyers and close family members.
Throughout this period, Turkey has attempted to transform Imrali Island into a “floating coffin”. Mr. Öcalan, who is now 75 years old, has been subjected to cruel torture through isolation for 25 years but over the last three years, no information at all has been provided concerning his health, giving cause for serious disquiet. At this point, even his whereabouts cannot be confirmed, and his physical condition is a highly sensitive issue for many Kurds who see him as embodying their national voice.
It is for these compelling reasons that we are kindly asking you, the CPT, to take some immediate action, only this will allay any fears. As the CPT, you are legally entitled to visit all places of detention of states which are party to the Convention, and this includes Turkey. This invest you with the powers and ability to send your team of experts to Imrali, where the Turkish government are obliged to grant you unrestricted access to visit where Mr. Öcalan is being held captive and to allow you to interview him in private so he can communicate with you in confidence free from any duress.
We would like the CPT to act in accordance with Article 3 of the CoE Statute, which states that: “Every member of the Council of Europe must accept the principles of the rule of law and the enjoyment by all persons within its jurisdiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Mr. Öcalan is a citizen of a CoE member state that has been denying him his human rights for two and half decades, and for the last three years, has been depriving him of his basic legal rights to meet with his lawyers and speak with his family.
All we ask, with complete sincerity, is that you please carry out your responsibilities immediately by sending a delegation to visit Imrali Island to speak with Mr. Öcalan and check on his well-being. Following that, we would greatly appreciate it if you could encourage Turkey to allow him to receive a visit from his family and lawyers, to bring them in full compliance with CoE and CPT obligations. This would help address an urgent human rights issue and concern for millions of Kurds and could also renew the spirit of reconciliation, which is urgently needed to find a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey.
With gratitude for your time and in the hope that you understand this as a heartfelt plea.