AMED - Stating that the prisoners raised their voice against the "greatest lawlessness" in Turkey with their hunger strike action, MED TUHAD-FED manager Fırat Taşkın said:" This is a message given to all dynamics of the society."

 

There has been no news from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in İmralı High Security Closed Prison, Ömer Hayri Konar, Veysi Aktaş and Hamili Yıldırım, who are in the same prison, for 33 months. The isolation, which was deepened by the rejection of requests for comment from family and lawyers, has now turned into a state of not being able to receive any news. In response to the lack of news from Abdullah Öcalan, the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, solution to the Kurdish Issue" campaign was launched simultaneously in 74 centers around the world on October 10. Thousands of prisoners in prisons started a hunger strike on November 27 as part of the campaign against the Imrali isolation. Evaluating the Imrali isolation, which continues with no information, and the hunger strike initiated by the prisoners against it, lawyer Fırat Taşkın, director of MED Prisoner and Convict Families and Federation of Legal and Solidarity Associations (MED TUHAD-FED), called for voices to be heard in the action.

 

THE CPT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ISOLATION OF ÖCALAN

 

Stating that Abdullah Öcalan was sentenced to solitary confinement in İmralı Type F Prison, Taşkın said: "The deepened isolation has spread to society and the biggest impact is on prisons. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and international institutions have responsibility for the İmralı isolation. While the CPT could even make a statement about the cell system that was tried to be introduced into Type E and F prisons in the 1990s and early 2000s, now it is İmralı Island prison where such intense isolation is implemented did not make a single statement about it. Reports regarding its visit are not shared with the public."

 

Stating that the prisoners were deprived of many rights as a result of the isolation system,Taşkın said: "The isolation, which started with the Anti-Terrorism Law (TMK) and continued with Type F and E prisons, continues today with Type  S and Y prisons."

 

'PUBLIC OPINION SHOULD BE A VOICE FOR THE PRISONERS'

 

Referring to the rotating hunger strike that the prisoners started on November 27 against the isolation, Taşkın said: "The fact that the prisoners are raising their voices against the biggest lawlessness in Turkey is a message to all dynamics of the society. The fact that this deadlock has actually spread to society is the most dominant factor of all problems. The hunger strike that the prisoners are going on at this stage is for the purpose of raising awareness. The continuation of this process will cause irreversible consequences. We want the biggest lawlessness in Turkey to end and be solved as soon as possible. The duty of the public is to voice the awareness that the prisoners want to create. Legitimate demands of all the prisoners need to be expressed. The solution to the problems can be achieved through ending the isolation in İmralı and through solution and dialogue channels that include all social dynamics."

 

MA / Müjdat Can