Jurists: Isolation on leader Ocalan is crime, against international law

Jurists noted that the strict isolation that the Turkish state imposes on leader Abdullah Ocalan is a crime and a flagrant violation of international laws regarding political prisoners.

13 November, 2020 05:34

Al-Shahba - Linda Sheikh

The Turkish occupation authorities continue to violate international laws regarding the rights of political prisoners, including the leader Abdullah Ocalan, whom the Turkish authorities impose a strict isolation on: his family and lawyers are denied visits and meetings with.

Jurists in Afrin believe that the international community and the European Committee against Torture must act to force Turkey to abide by international laws and norms.

“International community must act to put an end to Turkish violations”

Lawyer Israfil Mustafa said, "The international leader, Abdullah Ocalan, is not a detainee nor an ordinary prisoner. Rather, he is a political prisoner, and he must be treated as political prisoners. His arrest at the beginning was in violation of all international covenants and charters, and no international judicial arrest warrant was issued against him from International Interpol.”

Mustafa called on the international community and human rights and humanitarian organizations led by the European Union to move quickly to put an end to "those crimes that amount to war crimes against humanity."

For 21 years, CPT has not fulfilled its duty towards the detainees

Human rights defender Emad Daoud said that the latest report issued by the European Committee against Torture of the Council of Europe was late. He added, "We consider this report too late even though this committee visited the prison eight times over a period of 21 years."

"Turkey is committing continuous violations against the leader Abdullah Ocalan and his companions, as it imposes strict isolation on them, and detains them in solitary prisons, and these violations amount to crimes against humanity and contrary to international law," Daoud added.

'Turkey strikes against all international laws and constitutions'

Lawyer Alaeddin Al-Khaled said, "The isolation imposed on Leader Abdullah Ocalan does not have any legal background, neither in internal laws nor in international constitutions, and it is evidence that the Turkish state does not recognize neither the laws nor human rights nor even the rights of political detainees, and Turkey is turning a blind eye to all international laws and constitutions."

Al-Khaled continued, "Leader Abdullah Ocalan, being a thinker, philosopher and sociologist familiar with Middle East matters in general, provided solutions to Middle East issues for decades even before the so-called Arab Spring, and he stated in 2019 that he is ready to find a solution to Middle East issues."

Al-Khaled added, "Turkey and some countries rejected this idea, because the solutions proposed by the leader do not suit the interests of those countries, as these countries are nation states, based on denying the rights of peoples and components."

J.O

ANHA