Ocalan's family contacted him, but connection quickly cut off – UPDATED

News of and allegations about the deteriorating health and safety of leader Abdullah Ocalan in Imrali prison have spread on social media. Accordingly, Al-Asr Human Rights Office and Ocalan's family submitted a request to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Bursa to obtain an "urgent permission to meet with the leader."

Accordingly, the Human Rights Office announced today that a contact has been made with leader Ocalan, as his brother Mohammed Ocalan went to the court of Urfa and communicated with his brother Abdullah Ocalan by phone.

The office issued a brief statement regarding the call, stating:

"The Public Prosecution contacted the family of our clients, Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, Mr. Omar Khairy Konar, Mr. Hamili Yildirim and Mr. Wessi Aktash, to speak to our clients over the phone. When Mr. Ocalan spoke with his brother, the phone was cut off quickly, and when Mr. Hamili Yildirim spoke, it was also short, while Mr. Wessi Aktash and Mr. Omar Khairy Konar protested against the terms of contact and the provisions for isolation, and therefore did not accept contact by phone."

As of April 27, 2020, we have not received any information from Mr. Ocalan. The lawyers of our office last met him on August 7, 2019, but after some serious allegations about Ocalan's life were published on social media on March 14, 2021, we also applied for a visit to check on Ocalan's health on a daily basis, but our requests were met with rejection.

Today, we have not received any clear information about Mr. Ocalan's health condition. We still insist on our request to hold a meeting with Mr. Ocalan in Imrali. In this very short call, Mr. Ocalan expressed his rejection of the illegal measures taken by the authorities against him, and described what is happening against him as (contrary to the law). Then the communication was cut off, and therefore we share these developments with the public opinion and call on the Turkish authorities to act according to the law."

ANHA