Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers apply to visit their client in Imrali

Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers Faik Özgür Erol, Raziye Öztürk, Rezan Sarıca and Cengiz Yürekli have applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to be granted a visit to Imralı Island where he has been held since 1999.

On 14 March rumours spread on social media claiming that Öcalan had died in prison. Immediately protests were organised around the world demanding an urgent visit by the lawyers to Imrali.

On March 25th, Öcalan was able to talk with his brother Mehmet Öcalan. The short phone conversation happened about a year after a previous call, on 27 April 2020, and it is the first time since then that Öcalan had an actual contact with someone outside.

A number of applications have been filed by the lawyers and family members of Öcalan since March 14 for an “urgent meeting” with the Kurdish leader. Two separate applications have been submitted to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).