As debates over the right to hope continue, no concrete steps have been taken following recent remarks by Devlet Bahçeli on the “right to hope” and “status.” Despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), no decision has been made regarding Abdullah Öcalan, who is held in Imralı Prison, or thousands of political prisoners. While calls from lawyers and the public continue, the government has remained silent, prompting families of those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment to demand the immediate implementation of the right to hope and steps in line with the law.
One such family is the Bayram family, whose relatives were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment without any evidence. In 2008, their home was raided in connection with an armed incident in Diyarbakır (Amed), and many family members were taken into custody. Twelve people from the family were later arrested and sent to prison. Following the trial, three family members were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment. The ruling, issued in a hearing where lawyers were absent, was first taken to the Constitutional Court of Turkey and later to the ECtHR. Neytullah Bayram, Murat Yıldeniz and Halis Yıldeniz were among those sentenced. The three, who have been imprisoned since 2008 and have not been released despite chronic illnesses, are still unable to benefit from the right to hope.
Three family members have been in prison for years
Sezgin Bayram, a relative of prisoners, said that his father Neytullah Bayram, his uncle Murat Yıldeniz and his cousin Halis Yıldeniz, along with thousands of other prisoners, have been deprived of the right to hope, and stressed that the rulings of the ECtHR must be implemented. Drawing attention to the fact that the failure to apply this right victimizes both prisoners and their families, Bayram said that “this right must be implemented so that the public can have greater trust in the process.”
Failure to implement the right to hope is a cause of death
Bayram said that this right should apply not only to political prisoners but to all detainees, pointing to both the legal and humanitarian dimensions of the issue: “In the end, a person cannot live under prison conditions without any hope; this is clearly a cause of death. The ECtHR also issued a similar ruling in the case concerning Abdullah Öcalan and stated that it must be enforced immediately. All political prisoners, foremost Mr. Öcalan, must benefit from this right.”
Prisoners who are ill must be released first
Bayram said that the right to hope does not directly mean release and that the process could be implemented gradually: “The mere legalization of this right does not mean that everyone will immediately regain their freedom within the framework of the right to hope. It can be applied step by step, through sentence reductions, conditional release based on health conditions, or measures such as house arrest. What we demand is that this right be applied to all our friends, foremost prisoners who are ill, including Mr. Öcalan. Previously, a seriously ill prisoner passed away; there are thousands of others in similar conditions, and this right must also be applied to them.”
Law must be applied
Bayram also addressed the broader social impact of such regulations and said: “In this process, the right to hope and legal arrangements are essential for people to regain their freedom. At the same time, they are measures that will increase the public’s trust in this process, especially among the Kurdish people. We demand that the law be applied equally under the same conditions.
The file that led to these detentions is already empty; it has no legal basis. Perhaps an act took place under the influence of the conditions of that time. After that act, the family was blamed, and a form of retaliation was directed against them.”
Legally, the case file has lost its substance
Bayram argued that many people are being held unlawfully and said: “Most of our friends were sentenced based on alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). However, today there is an organization that no longer exists, one that has dissolved itself; therefore, there can be no prisoners belonging to it. Legally, the content of all these case files has become void. Legal arrangements must be made to strengthen the process and to nurture hope and a sense of brotherhood among the people. Our demand is the immediate implementation of legal regulations and the release of all our friends.”
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