Marco Grimaldi, Deputy Chair of the Green-Left Alliance (Avs) parliamentary group in Italy, told the Rome-based LaPresse agency: “In response to the call of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK), we call on Turkey to comply with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, particularly the ‘Right to Hope’ rulings that have been on the agenda since 2014.”
The ECHR had ruled that the aggravated life sentence imposed on Öcalan without the possibility of release violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Grimaldi recalled that in 2024 Turkey was given one year to implement the ECHR’s decisions, adding: “But the government has declared it will not grant the ‘Right to Hope’ to those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. As a member of the Council of Europe and an EU candidate country, Turkey is obliged to implement these rulings. The Council of Europe must take urgent measures to ensure Turkey fulfills its obligations. Only in this way can the process of peace and democratization be guaranteed.”
Grimaldi’s remarks coincided with initiatives carried out in Italy as part of the “Right to Hope” campaign. Throughout the week, the Freedom for Öcalan Italy Committee, the Rete Kurdistan friendship committees, and the Kurdistan Information Office sent both emails and postcards to members of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to draw attention to Öcalan’s case.
Information letters were also sent to MPs and senators in the Italian delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Speaking within the scope of the campaign, Giovanni Russo Spena, spokesperson for the Freedom for Öcalan Italy Committee, said: “For both the peace process that began in Turkey and for peace in the Middle East, Abdullah Öcalan must be freed as soon as possible. Öcalan is the only figure capable of playing this role.”