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A CALL FOR ENDING THE ISOLATION OF ABDULLAH OCALAN AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN TURKEY
We, the undersigned, call for an immediate end to the solitary confinement of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and other political prisoners in Turkey who are being held in gross violation of their human rights and of the norms of the internationally agreed-upon Mandela Rules. International Initiative – Freedom for Ocalan – Peace in Kurdistan & Peace in Kurdistan Campaign, 12 January 2019
Any form of isolation, also known as “solitary confinement”, is strictly prohibited under United Nations Minimum Rules of the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules) adopted by the UN in May 2015. According to these rules, 22 hours or more a day without human contact for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days is deemed prolonged solitary confinement. The prolonged isolation of Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı island prison, since his abduction in 1999, has continued for 20 years. The absolute isolation enforced on Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı island prison has entered its third year with no news from him. Meanwhile, since the abandonment of the Kurdish-Turkish peace initiative in 2015, Turkey has intensified its military war and political repression of the Kurds. The suppression of political parties and the jailing of Kurdish political leaders has become the norm as Turkish democracy has descended into authoritarian rule.
See the full demand here.