News Center- The “Noon Initiative for Öcalan's Freedom” issued a statement condemning the prison disciplinary sanctions against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. In the statement, the initiatives called on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to take a firm stand against inhuman practices carried out against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

“Rights violations committed by the Turkish judicial system should end. The three-month family visit ban issued against Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners held in Imrali prison by the Bursa High Criminal Court on March 31 as disciplinary sanctions is one of the rights violations committed by the judicial system. This ruling was announced when the lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan applied to visit their client on May 31. This disciplinary sanction is not the first disciplinary sanction imposed on Mr. Abdullah Öcalan in his solitary confinement.  He has faced such inhuman practices since his arrest on February 15, 1999,” the statement said.

Arbitrary practices

Underlining that the isolation has been imposed on Abdullah Öcalan for years, the initiative said in the statement:

“During all these long years, his lawyers have not been allowed to visit their client under the pretext of bad weather conditions or arbitrary practices by the prison administration. Although the prisoners have the right to see their families, Mr. Öcalan has been able to see his family several times until now. The disciplinary sanctions against Mr.Öcalan are the rights violations committed against all prisoners.”

Call on international organizations

In the statement, the initiative called on all civil and human rights organizations and said, “We call on the international civil and human rights organizations such as the European Human Rights Assembly (ECHR) and Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to take firm stand against inhuman practices carried out against PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. We call on the CPT to visit Öcalan and disclose his health condition.”

Noon Initiative for Öcalan's Freedom was formed in Beirut, Lebanon, by women in MENA to spread the ideology and philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan defending  the struggle of peoples for the self-determination, cultural, religious and ethnic identities.