CPT's ambigious answer about seeing Öcalan

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  • 09:28 4 December 2022
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ANKARA - CPT's Imrali Delegation Head Therese Rytter, whom we reached after the Asrın Law Office's statement on İmralı, answered the question about whether she had met with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan or not as follows: "We went to İmralı to examine the conditions of detention."
 
The Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) announced on October 3 regarding its visit to Turkey on September 20-29, that Imrali F Type High Security Prison was among the institutions it visited.
 
Answering the questions of the Mesopotamia Agency (MA) on October 4 about the visit, Therese Rytter, Head of the Imrali Delegation and 2nd Vice President of the CPT, said that they can say that they visited all the prisoners in İmralı, but cannot further explain their findings and they will publish the report if Turkey allows it.
 
However, Asrın Law Office, which consists of attorneys of Öcalan, made a statement on November 29, and said: "We have heard that Mr. Öcalan refused to see the CPT delegation during the CPT's visit to İmralı Island in September 2022."
 
DID YOU SEE ÖCALAN, OR NOT?
 
Therese Rytter, Head of the İmralı Delegation of the CPT, whom we reached after this statement by Asrın Law Office, was asked whether there was a meeting with Abdullah Öcalan in prison or not, said: "On the occasion of the visit, the delegation also went to Imralı F-type High-Security Prison, in order to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of all (four) prisoners currently held in the establishment. In this connection, particular attention was paid to the communal activities offered to the prisoners and their contacts with the outside world."
 
MA / Gözde Çağrı Özköse