AMED - Drawing attention to the pressures in prisons, relatives of prisoners stated that no problem can be solved without ending the isolation of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan. 

 

No news has been received from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan for 41 months, who has been held in İmralı High Security Closed Prison under heavy isolation conditions. Political prisoners from 106 prisons participated in the campaign for Abdullah Öcalan's freedom and a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue, which was launched simultaneously in 74 centers across Europe on October 10, 2023, with hunger strikes and boycotts, while relatives of prisoners supported the campaign with Justice Watch protests. 

 

Relatives of prisoners who continued their protests with various activities stated that no problem can be solved without lifting isolation.  

 

SON AND HUSBAND IN PRISON 

 

Zerin Eken (59), whose son is being held in Antalya High Security Prison and whose husband is being held in Diyarbakır High Security Prison No. 2, said that the fact that her husband and son are in different cities is both financially and emotionally difficult for her. Eken said: “My husband has blood pressure and diabetes. He also gets forgetful from time to time. This condition was triggered by the torture he was subjected to in detention. We have repeatedly written petitions to bring my son and my husband to the same prisons, but we have received no response. We have been facing pressure and persecution for years. However, we are only after our cause. We are defending our language, culture and rights.”  

 

Reminding that political prisoners boycotted the courts after April 4 and did not make phone calls and family visits, Eken said that his son and his wife also participated in this action. “We haven't heard anything from my son and my wife for 3 months. The demand of the prisoners is that Abdullah Öcalan should be allowed to see his lawyer and family like every other prisoner. We also demand that Abdullah Öcalan be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family” she said. 

 

'THE SOLUTION IS TO END THE ISOLATION'

 

Hatice Çiftçi, wife of İbrahim Çiftçi, who is being held in Diyarbakır High Security Closed Prison No. 1, stated that her husband contracted Hepatitis B after he was imprisoned. Çiftçi said: “When my husband was arrested, they locked us all in a room and tortured him in the barn where the animals were kept. With the help of the villagers, my husband was rescued from the hands of the soldiers. The tortures he was subjected to left permanent damage on him. Now, due to his health condition, he goes to the hospital once a week to give blood.”

 

Reminding that there has been no news from Abdullah Öcalan for a long time, “The isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and political prisoners must end. As long as isolation exists, there will be no solution to any of the Kurdish problems. In order to find a solution to the problems, Abdullah Öcalan must be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family immediately.” 

 

'LET THIS PERSECUTION STOP'

 

Emphasizing that the Kurdish people want peace and freedom and are fighting for it, Ayşe Kızılkan, mother of prisoner Necla Kızılkan, said: “We do not want war. We want this persecution to stop and the isolation in prisons to end. For this, we always want peace, unity and justice. We want the isolation on Abdullah Öcalan to be lifted as soon as possible.”