MRAP calls for UN to visit Imrali prison Immediately

The 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which began on September 9 at the UN headquarters in Geneva and will continue until October 9, is discussing human rights violations in various countries.

In these sessions, the Movement against Racism and for Friendship Among Peoples (MRAP), through a written message, highlighted the system of torture and extermination imposed by Turkish authorities on leader Abdullah Ocalan and the genocide policy exercised against the Kurdish people.

"All Kurdish values are under attack"

The message presented during the sessions stated that the Turkish state violates its constitution and international human rights laws and continues to implement discriminatory and repressive policies against the Kurdish people in all areas of life, emphasizing that these practices are direct violations of international law.

The letter also recalled recent assaults on Kurdish culture, stating: "The Turkish state adopts a racist approach toward Kurdish cultural symbols, especially traditional Kurdish clothing, folklore, and music, using this as a pretext for arrests."

"Prisons have turned into centers of torture"

The letter also addressed the absence of law regarding the treatment of political prisoners and the violation of human rights in Turkish prisons. It pointed out that the right of political detainees to hope has been stripped away through laws designed to prevent leader Abdullah Ocalan from attaining his physical freedom.

The letter noted that political prisoners are subjected to severe torture conditions through the imposition of disciplinary penalties and a system of torture and extermination. It stated: "Racially motivated disciplinary penalties are imposed for reasons such as participating in Kurdish cultural activities, refusing to have their mouths inspected when going to the hospital, not standing during roll call, or participating in hunger strikes against torture and ill-treatment. Individuals who receive disciplinary penalties are isolated in solitary confinement cells and are prohibited from meeting with their families and lawyers, as well as from speaking on the phone, for weeks.”

"Imrali has become a center of lawlessness"

The letter confirmed that Imrali Prison "has become a hub of illegal practices in prisons. Leader Abdullah Ocalan has been living under a torture system since February 15, 1999. He is held in solitary confinement and is consistently denied visits with his lawyer and family. Communication with him and the three other detainees in Imrali has been cut off since March 25, 2021. Furthermore, many convicts are not being released despite having served their sentences, while prison terms and the long-term system of torture and extermination are arbitrarily extended, which is viewed as a form of torture."

The letter, which also highlighted the situation of sick prisoners, noted that there are a total of 1,417 sick prisoners in Turkish prisons, 651 of whom are in critical condition.

The letter also referred to the recent sessions of the UN Committee against Torture and the recommendations regarding Turkey, affirming that despite the committee's recommendations, leader Abdullah Ocalan and the three other detainees in Imrali are still unable to meet with their families or lawyers.

"They have not implemented any of the international agreements"

The letter also stated: "Despite Turkey being a party to many international human rights agreements, it has not implemented the decisions or recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), or the UN's human rights." The letter made the following appeal to the Turkish state:

- The agreements you have signed must be implemented.

- Decisions and recommendations from European institutions monitoring these agreements must be enforced.

- The decisions and recommendations issued by UN human rights must be urgently implemented.

"Imrali must be visited immediately"

The letter called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to take responsibility for the crimes committed against the Kurdish people. The letter concluded with the following appeal to the UN: "The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and all relevant special units should pay special attention to the situation in Turkey, and the Council of Europe's Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture should urgently request a visit to İmralı.”

A-H

ANHA