Families of prisoners in İmralı apply for a visit

Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan’s brother Mehmet Öcalan and his guardian Mazlum Dinç and prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar’s brother Ali Konar, Hamili Yıldırım’s brother Polat Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş’s sister Melihe Çetin have applied once again to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and Prison Directorate. The families requested the visit to take place on Monday.

Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held in isolation in Imrali High Security F-Type Prison since he was taken captive as the result of an international conspiracy carried out in 1999.

News from Abdullah Öcalan was last received when he phoned his brother on 25 March. The call only lasted a few minutes.

Lawyers of Öcalan were able to meet with their client on May 2-22, June 12-18 and August 7, 2019, 8 years after the previous visit. Since 7 August 2019, all applications have gone unanswered.

It was recently learned that two new bans on Abdullah Öcalan were issued after the lawyers applied for an “urgent visit” to the Bursa Criminal Execution Judge on 22 November. The Bursa Execution Judgeship rejected the application, citing the 6-month ban on Ocalan given by the court on 12 October.

While rejecting the application of the families, the same Judge’s Office cited a decision by the Disciplinary Board of the İmralı Penitentiary Directorate, dated 18 August, cancelling visits for a period of 3 months.