For 17 days, MPs from the HDP parliamentary group have been protesting for the lifting of the total isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, of whom there has been no sign of life for 22 months. Day after day, the MPs try to march in front of the Ministry of Justice, but are prevented from doing so by the police and therefore make statements in front of the parliament. Today's protest was attended by MPs Muazzez Orhan, Remziye Tosun, Hüseyin Kaçmaz, Kemal Peköz, Erdal Aydemir, Nuran Imir, Celadet Gaydalı and Abdullah Koç. The MPs carried signs reading "The law must also apply to Imrali" and "Isolation is a crime against humanity".

HDP MP Huseyin Kaçmaz took the floor and said: "With the isolation of Mr. Öcalan on Imrali, all human rights are being trampled underfoot. The state must abide by the law and act according to the law. Today, every prisoner has the right to see his family and his lawyer. However, the exercise of this right has been prevented by the isolation on Imrali for two years."

Kaçmaz noted that the isolation on Imrali has affected the whole country: "The peoples of Turkey are also isolated today. The impasse in which Turkey finds itself, the crises in politics and the economy, are directly related to the isolation. Behind all this is hostility towards the Kurds."

Kaçmaz described the isolation as a crime against humanity and continued: "The government has turned a deaf ear to our demands for 17 days. Without this anti-Kurdish attitude, the way for talks on Imrali would have been paved. Öcalan had promised that he could end the war and the conflict situation within a week. However, the AKP/MHP government has not shown any seriousness towards this."

With regard to the announced war budget of 2023, the MP stated: "There is a budget for war, there is a budget for Kurdish hostility, but there is no budget for the peoples of Turkey. War impoverishes society. Mr. Öcalan can end the war that has been going on for 40 years and achieve a dignified peace. The state should take this seriously but it responds to these calls by tightening isolation."

Kaçmaz concluded his statement with an appeal: "As long as Mr. Öcalan's voice is not heard, the war will deepen. The key to the solution lies on Imrali, the government must realise this. What is the government's fear of peace? What is the reason for imposing death and war on the Kurdish people and the people of Turkey? Everyone must raise their voices and do something about isolation."