HDP delegation returns from Imrali Island

HDP MP and member of the Imrali delegation, Bervin Buldan, and al-Asr Law Office lawyer Faik Ozgür Erol, returned from Imrali Island after meeting with Leader Abdullah Ocalan.

This move is part of a series of visits recently permitted by Turkish authorities for the party delegation to Imrali Maximum Security Prison, where leader Abdullah Ocalan has been imprisoned for years, along with Omer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım, and Veysi Aktaş. Authorities continue to impose strict restrictions on family and lawyer meetings with the four detainees.

On October 23, 2024, Leader Abdullah Ocalan held his first family meeting with his nephew, Omer Ocalan, the DEM Party's deputy for Urfa Province. Subsequently, the party delegation was allowed to visit Imrali Prison three times: on December 28, 2024, January 22, and February 27, 2025. The first two visits were attended by Sırı Sureyya Onder and Bervin Buldan.

During the third visit, the delegation was joined by DEM Party co-chairs Tulay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakıran, along with lawyers Cengiz Çiçek and Faik Ozgür Erol, and Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk. The three prisoners also participated in the meeting alongside Leader Abdullah Ocalan.

During this visit, the leader and his fellow prisoners issued a "Call for Peace and a Democratic Society." Another family meeting was held on March 31, 2025, to mark Eid al-Fitr, with the participation of several family members of the prisoners.

In a related development, the delegation was scheduled to continue its visit to Imrali after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 10. However, delegation member Sirri Sureyya Onder suffered a severe heart attack on April 15 due to an aneurysm in his aorta. He is currently receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Florence Nightingale Hospital in Istanbul.

T/S

ANHA