ISTANBUL - Families of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners held in İmralı Island Prison applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate to meet with their relatives.

 

Mehmet Öcalan, the brother of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held under severe isolation conditions in İmralı Type F High Security Prison and has not been heard from for 32 months, and his trustee Mazlum Dinç applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate, requesting a meeting.

 

Ali Konar, the brother of Ömer Hayri Konar, who is held in İmralı, Polat Yıldırım, the brother of Hamili Yıldırım, and Melihe Çetin, the sister of Veysi Aktaş, also applied to the Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the İmralı Prison Directorate, requesting a meeting.

 

REASON FOR 'DISCIPLINARY PENALTY'

 

The right to meet with the families of Abdullah Öcalan and the other three people held in İmralı is being denied, citing "disciplinary penalties". Between 2021 and 2023, Öcalan and other prisoners were given disciplinary punishments of at least 5 times, each for 3 months, and their right to visit their families was taken away.

 

The reasons and file numbers of these disciplinary penalties are not shared with their lawyers despite all applications and objections.

 

As a result of the applications made by the lawyers of Asrın Law Firm to the Bursa Execution Judgeship, the judgeship stated that disciplinary penalties of 3 months were given on August 18, 2021, 3 months on February 3, 2022, 3 months on May 31, 2022, and 3 months on September 9, 2022.

 

Responding to the application made by the lawyers on July 10, 2023, on July 19, the judgeship announced that there was a 3-month disciplinary penalty, without specifying the date on which it was given. The last application of the lawyers was on October 10, 2023. Responding to the application made to the Bursa Execution Judgeship requesting family views, on October 13, the court stated that there was a new disciplinary punishment given against Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners.

 

The judge's office cited "its reflection in the press" as the reason for not sharing the file number subject to disciplinary punishment.