Repeated calls for disclosing Ocalan's health status

Bekas Dari, member of Mesopotamia Movement for Culture and Art called on the international organizations, primarily the Human Rights Organization, to clarify their stance on the severe isolation imposed by the Turkish state on the leader Abdullah Ocalan in the light of the coronavirus outbreak in Turkey.

28 April, 2020 01:51

QAMISHLO / LILAV ABDULLAH _ BASSEL RASHID

The Turkish authorities have imposed severe isolation on Ocalan, and prevented periodical and regular meeting with him by his family members and lawyers. After a series of sit-ins and events of the Kurdish people throughout Kurdistan, most recently in late February, after reporting a fire on the island of Imrali, they allowed some of these meetings.

Following the Corona pandemic outbreak which hit the worldwide, including Turkey, and posing real threat on the overcrowded prisons, several governments have taken urgent measures to curb the coronavirus, including the early release of detainees, but the Turkish parliament, which approved April 7 bill, did not include thousands of conscience prisoners, journalists, politicians and intellectuals, but only those accused of criminal charges.

Despite international appeals for the urgent release of detainees in the world, the Turkish authorities have not taken any step in this direction, on the contrary, they have tightened the isolation on the leader Ocalan, prevented his lawyers from meeting with him and checking on his health, as reportedly confirmed by the Office of the Age of Human Rights through its recent report. The report drew attention to the significant risks on Ocalan in light of the virus outbreak in the Turkish prisons, and called on the Committee against Torture to perform its tasks.

'Turkey has tightened the isolation on leader Ocalan more after the Coronavirus'

Member of the Mesopotamia Movement for Culture and Art Bekas Dari said that the Turkish authorities have not taken any action or decision so far regarding the release of the leader Abdullah Ocalan, and said: "It even tightened isolation, and prevented his lawyers and his family from meeting with him via telephone, in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Turkish prisons."

He explained that Ocalan put forward the project of the democratic nation for better co-living in the Middle East, and continued: "But Turkey adopts one flag and one religion theory" , so it imposes strict isolation on the leader Abdullah Ocalan, attacking other components and peoples, and aiming to obliterate their identity and culture."

Bekas called on all international organizations, including the Human Rights Organization to clarify their stance on the severe isolation on Ocalan by the Turkish authorities. He called for the lifting of isolation, releasing him, and revealing his health status.

According to scarce information from Turkish prisons, a number of prisoners have lost their lives as a result of the coronavirus, with hundreds of infections.

A.J

ANHA