ISTANBUL – ÖHD Headquarters Director Sezin Uçar stated that CPT must announce its report regarding the İmralı visit and said that they will apply to the Ministry of Justice together with many lawyers to hold meetings with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

Lawyers Association for Freedom (ÖHD), Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD), Society and Legal Research Foundation (TOHAV), Civil Society Association in the Penal System (CİSST), Elih, Amed, Colemerg, Mêrdîn, Mûş, Şirnex, Riha, Wan bar associations and the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) announced January 12 for PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and Hamili Yıldırım, Veysi Aktaş and Ömer Hayri Konar, who have not been allowed to meet with their families and lawyers for 34 months in İmralı Type F High Security Prison, where they are held. She applied to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) for an "urgent" visit.

 

Making evaluations about the application, ÖHD Headquarters Manager Sezin Uçar reminded CPT's visits to İmralı Type F High Security Prison and said that CPT must announce their report on the visits.

  

Lawyer Sezin Uçar

 

'CPT MUST SHARE THE REPORT WITH THE PUBLIC'

 

Stating that the CPT is a "guarantee" to prevent the torture of states against their citizens, Uçar reminded that the CPT made visits to İmralı Type F High Security Prison at various times. Noting that the CPT, like all international institutions, has the authority to create "pressure" on the state, Uçar stated that the same CPT is important in terms of torture in prisons in the country. Emphasizing that İmralı Type F High Security Prison has a special place in terms of issues and the form of "torture", Uçar said: "This is a visit that the CPT has made in the past years. We want the CPT's report from this visit to be shared with the public. Because they have such a right. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the contract, it has the authority and must share it with the public. In fact, the CPT must make a statement to the public in accordance with their founding philosophy and contract. We think that international institutions and agreements are important in ending absolute isolation. The application was important both to explain the international impact of the isolation to the people living in Turkey and to put pressure on the Turkish state. That's why we made an application signed by 8 bar associations and law associations and organizations. Because the more legal institutions put the Imrali isolation on their agenda, the impact on the CPT will increase."

 

 REMINDING THE CPT OF THEIR DUTY

 

Stating that the CPT has the authority to disclose their reports and observations, Uçar said that the main basis of the CPT application is to remind the CPT of their duties and powers. Emphasizing that the state of absolute lack of communication (incommunicado) must be eliminated, Uçar underlined that legal institutions are trying to put the state of absolute lack of communication on the agenda in Kurdistan and Turkey.

Referring to the CPT's relationship with states, Uçar said: “International institutions such as the CPT can determine attitudes contrary to the contract in some processes. We see this reflected in some decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) or the United Nations (UN). As a result, these international institutions can also determine their positions according to international politics. Therefore, we think that the more we, as legal institutions in Turkey, put this on the agenda, the more the CPT will adopt a policy that is in line with their founding philosophy and their position in the struggle for human rights. That's why, in accordance with the CPT's contracts, we applied to show the gravity of the isolation in Imrali. This is now at a point that must be discussed and changed. Currently, there is no news from Abdullah Öcalan. Whether the letters sent to him were received, his health condition, etc., nothing is known."

 

'WE WILL ALSO APPLY TO THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE'

 

Emphasizing that they will also apply to the Ministry of Justice in the future for visits to İmralı Type F High Security Prison and to break the isolation, Uçar said: "Our colleagues who are lawyers in various bar associations of Turkey will personally submit an application to the Ministry of Justice with their signatures against this unlawfulness. This is an issue that is both the responsibility of bar associations or various legal institutions, and an issue in which individual lawyers, that is, lawyers as a defense authority, are parties. In a way, this isolation is also a violation of the right to defence. We can say that the right to defense is restricted in this sense. That's why we will submit an application to the Ministry of Justice with the signatures of many of our lawyer friends to end the isolation."

 

OHD MEMBER UÇAR: WE WILL APPLY TO THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE TO HOLD TALKS IN İMRALI

 

Calling on legal institutions, bar associations and all lawyers, Uçar said that the isolation conditions in İmralı were not independent of other lawlessness in the country. Stating that Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and many legal institutions are "insensitive" about the isolation in Imrali, Uçar said: “What happened in other prisons in Turkey is related to the Imrali isolation. That isolation also affects the Kurdish issue and women's struggle. For this reason, legal institutions need to be more sensitive and fight more effectively against this lawlessness. Unfortunately, there were a very limited number of bar associations that supported this study. For example, the Istanbul Bar Association cannot remain a spectator to this great unlawfulness. Or, today, the active subjects of the work carried out for our colleague Can Atalay's freedom and for him to become a member of parliament must implement the same policy for the Imrali lawlessness. Because the Imrali isolation is not a problem that can be addressed independently of other legal problems or other unlawfulness. Therefore, our call to both our colleagues and other legal institutions will be to have more effective combat programs against this lawlessness."

 

MA / Ömer İbrahimoğlu