DİYARBAKIR - Stating that the prohibition on torture is violated in İmralı Prison with the isolation imposed on the prisoners, Attorney Gizem Miran said: "İramlı is a black hole in terms of law. The removal of the isolation will reflect to the public safety."

 

There has been no news for more than 9 months from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is held under heavy isolation conditions for nearly 23 years in İmralı High Security Type F Closed Prison. Asrın Law Office lawyers applied to at least 60 institutions, organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the last two months in order to receive news from their clients. However, applications were left unanswered. Speaking about the isolation that started in İmralı and spread to all prisons, Diyarbakır Bar Association Human Rights Center Prison Monitoring Commission Co-chair Gizem Miran said that the isolation is a violation of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment.

 

VIOLATION OF THE PROHIBITION OF TORTURE

 

Stating that isolation is a tactic to design the prisons, Miran said: "Isolation is a violation of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, which targets a fundamental human right. It means a violation of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, both nationally and internationally." Noting that torture has turned into a policy of prison administration, Miran said, "The isolation imposed on Mr. Abdullah Öcalan has turned into a practice that started from İmralı Island and spread to all prisons, and from prisons to the society. We often see the projections of this practice in which the family and lawyers are not allowed to see their relatives in prisons."

 

'IT CAN NOT BE EXPLAINED BY LAW' 

 

Emphasizing that the isolation cannot be explained by law, Miran stated that the political goals of the isolation combined with politics cannot be ignored. Miran said, "Legally, an implicit regime, an implicit legal regime, a tacit execution regime is being implemented. It is a regime that is never spoken of, not accepted, but has been implicitly implemented silently for years. However, it is possible to refer to Imrali Prison as a legal black hole. The attitude of the governments that change time to time, stays the same regarding the Kurdish question and the democratisation of Turkey. We sometimes saw that the isolation in İmralı was loosened but today it is getting more and more strict. It is possible to say that it ceases to be a legal argument and combines with political goals and policies."

 

'THEY KNOW THAT ISOLATION IS ILLEGAL'

 

Miran told that Turkey knows that isolation is illegal and that's why it doesn't accept that isolation is imposed on the prisoners. Pointing out that prisoners are prevented from being visited by their families and lawyers and recieve disciplinary punishments for no good reason, Miran said: "Öcalan's lawyers are also unable to reach these ban decisions and cannot raise any objections to them in the national and international arena. THis can also be seen as a way to prevent the issue to be brought to the agenda domestically and internationally. It is an issue that also deprives citizens of their right to apply to effective legal remedies, which is guaranteed by the Constitution's Article 40. It is possible to see that the lawyers, who could not reach this prohibition decision, have difficulties in bringing it to the agenda in the international arena, since they could not bring it to any international media. 

 

Reminding that isolating a person for more than 2 days is considered a a violation of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment in the European Convention on Human Rights and Mandela Rules, Miran evaluated the ignoring of the isolation in Imrali by the rule makers as an "ambivalent approach". Saying that this ambivalent approach stems from the relations with Turkey, Miran said, "The CPT has many reports on this issue regarding the Imrali Prison. While emphasizing that this is a violation recently, the CPT has held back from using clear statements and making periodic visits. International mechanisms do not do their part in this regard. They do not even take the international sanctions against Turkey on their agenda. There is a serious issue that has been going on for a long time. We are talking about a series of violations. The biggest thing that affects this is, of course, diplomatic relations between states."

 

CONTRIBUTION THE DEMOCRATISATION

 

Noting that the end of the isolation in Imrali will be a step that gives a feeling of security to the society, Miran said, “It will also be promising that the Kurdish question can be approached from a democratic place. This means building trust in society and can be seen as a serious step towards democratisation."