Asrın Law Firm made a new application to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) for their client, PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in absolute isolation in Imrali Type F High Security Prison and has not been heard from for 38 months. In the application, developments covering the period between February 1 and April 30, 2024 for Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners in Imrali, Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş were included.

 

37 APPLICATIONS WERE LEAVED UNRESPONDED

 

In the application, it was stated that a total of 37 applications, including 25 lawyers and 12 family meeting applications, were made between February 1 and April 30, but all of the applications were left unanswered. In the application, it was stated that no letters were delivered to the lawyers during this process, the situation of the 4 letters sent to Imrali was unknown, and there was no development regarding telephone call rights.

 

NEW 3-MONTH DISCIPLINARY PENALTY

 

It was stated that applications for family and lawyer meetings have been blocked on the grounds of at least 22 "disciplinary penalties" since September 14, 2018. It was reminded that a new 3-month "disciplinary penalty" is imposed on March 28, before the last "disciplinary penalty" dated January 12, 2024 expired.

 

It was pointed out that the process in question was carried out secretly from the lawyers and was finalized on April 12, contrary to the law. In the application, it was underlined that the applicants' right to defense was also denied.

 

PREVENTING AKTAŞ'S RELEASE

 

It was shared that although Veysi Aktaş, who is held in Imrali Prison, completed the execution of his 30-year sentence on April 28, his release was postponed for 1 year by the decision of the Administration and Observation Board. Lawyers stated that they were not notified of the decision in question.

 

In the section on preventing Aktaş's release, the article regulating the right to "conditional release" was reminded and it was pointed out that this right covers "those who have been sentenced to solitary confinement three times as a disciplinary punishment". The following statements were made in the relevant section: “Apart from this, it is not legally possible to apply the criteria of an aggravated life sentence or any other unfavourable provisions to Mr Aktaş. As Mr. Aktaş has not received any solitary confinement penalty to date, he was supposed to be released on 28 April 2024. However, The Admınıstratıve and Supervısory Board’s Decısıon to assess the possıbılıty of Mr Aktaş’s condıtıonal release means that the authorıtıes did not apply the law in favour of the applıcant and thereby contravened the law. Because the authority to decide on conditional release, which the Administrative and Supervisory Board did not previously have, was introduced with the Law No. 7242, a novel and severe piece of legislation, 14.04.2020. The board regarding conditional release was implemented based on the Regulation on Supervision and Classification Centres and the Evaluation of Convicts of 29 December 2020. Pursuant to Article 7/3 of Law No. 5237, it should have been determined which provision of the law was in favour of the applicant in terms of the right to conditional release and this provision should have been applied. According to the term calculation sheet prepared by the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Mr Aktaş’s prison term should be determined according to the Law No. 3713. According to this legal evaluation, there is no obstacle for Mr Aktaş to be released at the end of 30 years. This has also been established and clarified by the Prosecutor’s Office. Since it is clear that if a different regulation is introduced, it will be unfavourable, it is legally impossible to apply it.”

 

EARTHQUAKE RISK AND ACTION IN PRISONS

 

In the application, it was noted that after the earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, centered in Mereş (Maraş), and the earthquakes that occurred in the last year, applications for lawyer and family meetings were made without interruption. It was noted in the application that the applications in question were left unanswered, and it was stated that the public's concerns about Imrali, especially families and lawyers, were increasing.

 

It was also emphasized that the rotating hunger strikes that started in prisons on November 27, 2023, continued as of April 4, 2024, with "boycotts of courts, family visits and phone calls".

 

It was warned that this situation could lead to irreparable damage and stated, " It is therefore imperative to fulfil all necessary responsibilities without delay to prevent any severe consequences." Lawyers were reminded of the application made by 14 rights and legal organizations in Turkey to the CPT in January for Abdullah Öcalan and 3 other names in Imrali. It was reported that a new application was made with the same demands on March 28.

 

CPT WAS REMINDED OF ITS RESPONSIBILITIES

 

The application, which included the CPT's detection and prevention duties, also included the committee's failure to visit Imrali during its visit to Turkey in February. In the application it was stated: “From the CPT’s public announcement in which it declared that it paid a special visit to Turkey in February 2024 and also shared the names of the prisons its delegation visited, it can be concluded that the CPT did not visit İmralı Island Prison and thus also did not interview Mr Öcalan and the other three applicants with whom we have not been able to establish any contact for 37 months. According to the CPT’s statement, the delegation dealt with the topic of “prisoners’ relations with the outside world” in İmralı Prison only in as far as it held “consultations with the authorities”.  It is irreconcilable with the mandate of the CPT, whose founding rationale is the prevention of torture, inhuman and degrading punishment or treatment, to raise the issue only in consultations with the authorities when not a single improvement has been observed to date regarding the conditions in İmralı Prison, when none of the CPT’s recommendations to the Government have been complied with, and when the applicants continue to be cut off from all contact with the outside world. The CPT is charged with the task of eliminating potential risks, now and in the future. In view of the serious risks posed by the fact that we have not heard from the applicants for more than 3 years, we would like you to remind you once more that this extraordinary state of affairs imposes a vital responsibility on the CPT as the only organisation that is able to visit İmralı Island Prison.”

 

In the application, the CPT was called upon to abandon its stance of operating ordinary procedures in the face of the extraordinary conditions in Imrali and to operate relevant procedures that would eliminate the conditions of ill-treatment and the state of "incommunicado".

 

DEMANDS

 

The lawyers made the following demands in the continuation of the application: 

 

“*To take action for Mr Veysi Aktaş’s immediate release and make sure that all relevant judicial procedures are transparent, open and accessible

*To urgently disclose its findings and observations regarding the conditions in İmralı Prison as reported by its delegation after its visit in September 2022;

*To conduct another visit to İmralı Prison considering that absolute uncertainty has prevailed regarding the situation in İmralı since September 2022

*To take all necessary measures to ensure that the applicants’ conditions of detention are brought in line with human dignity, enabling them to exercise all their communication rights to protect their ties with the outside world, especially re-establishing contact with their lawyers and family, and ending the illegal and systematic interference with their rights.

*To urgently adopt and execute compulsive measures and the procedures under Article 10/2 of the Convention to eliminate the conditions of torture, inhuman, and ill-treatment and end the state of incommunicado which the applicants are currently held in.”

 

 

MA / İbrahim Irmak