ANKARA - Stating that the isolation imposed on Öcalan is a crime against humanity, political party representatives said, "Isolation is the problem of all forces defending democracy and freedom," and called for a joint struggle.

 

The isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in İmralı High Security Type F Closed Prison for 23 years, is spreading to all prisons day by day. Öcalan was finally able to make a phone call with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 25. There has been no news for 9 months from Öcalan, while his lawyers and family has been repeatedly applying for a visit. Political party representatives in Ankara evaluated the isolation imposed upon Öcalan and other detainees.

 

Stating that tens of thousands of detainees in prisons are under severe isolation, Socialist Re-Establishment Party (SYKP) Ankara Provincial Co-Chair Nüve Gönültaş said that most of the practices in prisons are remnants of the September 12 coup process. Pointing out that Turkey is among the countries with the highest number of prisoners, Gönültaş said that the aim is to isolate the democratic opposition by silencing them. Gönültaş pointed out that the oppression was not limited to the detainees, but spreaded to the whole society, starting with the families of the prisoners.

 

'THEY WANT THE PEOPLE TO BE SILENCED'

 

Noting that the current government's position that does not recognize any legal norms has led to an increased isolation, Gönültaş said, “They want a deep silence in the face of the society's demands for rights. The pressure in the prisons and the outside pressures are running parallel to each other. Fighting for the rights of not only political prisoners but also all convicts and detainees without any discrimination is essential for prison practices. Human rights institutions, relatives of detainees and political institutions should take an active position that keeps the issue on the agenda, through closer cooperation.”

 

'ISOLATION IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY'

 

Ali Gökkaya, a member of the Kurdistan Communist Party (KKP) Central Executive Board said, “Even though capital punishment has been removed from the Turkish Penal Code, it is carried out in a different way today. People are now being left for dead in prisons with isolation, unsanitary prison conditions and long sentences. Medicine is being used as a tool against people to punish them. The Forensic Medicine Institude singlehandedly confine people to longer sentences with its report while other independent hospitals gives reports to ill prisoners saying that they can not maintain their lives in prisons. This is a crime against humanity. The isolation on Abdullah Öcalan being held in İmralı Prison is a crime against humanity. Kurdish people are concerned about his well being since they can't get any information about him. I am calling for an end to this."

 

CALL FOR STEPPING UP THE STRUGGLE

 

Umut Açar, a member of the Revolutionary Party Central Executive Board (MYK), said, “Prisons are the only option for the mentality that tries to keep a large part of the public under pressure, but cannot do it outside. If we consider the current situation of the country, the war policies  and the economic collapse, the political power that did not receive support, criminalized all of the opposition and made criminals out of them. As a result, it is clear that the people imprisoned will continue to be harassed in prison too. The attitude of the prisoners against these violations are unquestionably honourable."

 

Emphasizing the importance of speaking out about the violations in a way that people from all walks of life can hear, Açar stated that the first step in breaking the isolation is to prevent violations in prison.