According to the Mesopotamia News Agency, Pascal Savoldelli, Senator for the French Communist Party, wrote a letter to the Turkish Ministry of Justice to meet with Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is being held under severe isolation conditions in İmralı F Type High Security Prison. Savoldelli drew attention to international conventions and asked for the necessary legal authorisation.

Savoldelli’s letter to the Turkish ministry reads as follows:

“I am writing to you in my capacity as a Senator of the French Republic to draw your attention to the situation of Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned in Turkey for 25 years. As you know, Abdullah Öcalan was arrested in 1999 and has been held in the High Security Imrali Prison since then. Human rights defence organisations have repeatedly reported serious restrictions on Öcalan’s visitation and communication rights, in breach of international standards on prisoners’ rights. During these years, prison conditions have often been described as extremely harsh, with prolonged periods of isolation. Abdullah Öcalan has been a key actor in the peace negotiations between the Turkish government and the Kurds.

During the 2013 peace talks, Öcalan played the role of mediator, calling for a ceasefire and an end to hostilities. Nevertheless, Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers and family have not heard from him for 5 years, with only a single telephone conversation with a family member in March 2021. This call lasted 4 minutes and was interrupted while the conversation was in progress. This raises deep concerns about Öcalan’s fundamental rights, in particular his right to communicate with his relatives and legal representatives. In the name of international law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules), I request information on Abdullah Öcalan’s state of health and conditions of detention. Respect for human rights, including the right of all prisoners to visit and communicate with the outside world, is a fundamental principle recognised by the international community to which the Republic of Turkey is a party.

Furthermore, as a parliamentarian, I would like to exercise my right to meet Abdullah Öcalan in the presence of his lawyers. This initiative falls within the framework of my mission to monitor and promote human rights in accordance with the values and commitments of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is a signatory. In this spirit, I request that I be granted the necessary authorisation to visit Abdullah Öcalan. I thank you in advance for your interest in this request and look forward to your positive response in order to organise this visit as soon as possible.”