The Co-Presidency of the KCK Executive Council issued a statement about Friday’s meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE).

The KCK said: “As of 20 September 2024, the position of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the so-called Right to Hope law has been made clear. As far as it was reflected in the press, the committee considered the Turkish state’s failure to implement the law of Right to Hope as a violation of rights and asked Turkey to take steps. It gave Turkey one year to do so.

However, the Turkish state is openly preventing Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] from benefiting from this law, it is even rejecting the applications of other prisoners. It is a serious paradox and an unacceptable approach for the CoE Committee of Ministers not to take the necessary decisions and to give Turkey a deadline while the attitude of the fascist, racist, and torturing AKP-MHP government is like this. The approaches of the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government are obvious. They are implementing Kurdish genocide policies and do not take into account any principle of law, morality, or ethics. Rêber Apo does not benefit from the law of Right to Hope, and instead a complete torture and genocide system is implemented in Imrali.”

The statement added: “Rêber Apo has been kept in Imrali for 26 years under a system of torture and genocide. For four years, he has been in absolute isolation, and all his ties with the outside world have been cut. While this is the reality, giving time to the Turkish state and the fascist AKP-MHP government, which have committed the gravest crime against humanity with the Imrali system, is in essence tolerating and legitimizing this approach. The decision of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE provides legitimacy to the Turkish state’s crimes of open violation of rights. In the face of these very clear violations of rights that are in no way justifiable, the Committee of Ministers of the CoE should have put pressure on the Turkish state to force it to take immediate steps.

The Turkish state has so far carried out the genocide of the Kurdish people with the support of foreign powers, especially the US and European states. The international conspiracy against the Kurdish people in the person of Rêber Apo was also carried out with the support of these powers. And now again, the fascist AKP-MHP government continues its Kurdish genocide policies with the support of the USA, Israel, NATO, and European states. The European institutions have so far failed to act according to their responsibilities and missions and have not taken the necessary stance on the implementation of both the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights and universal law. They have remained silent and passive in the face of the Turkish state’s flagrant violations and crimes against humanity against the Kurds and Rêber Apo. Previously, the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that Rêber Apo did not receive a fair trial and therefore should be retried was not implemented by the Turkish state. However, nothing has been done against it. Again, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) not only failed to fulfill its responsibility to remedy the clear crimes and violations of the law that it itself had defined but also contradicted itself by stating that it had given Turkey a deadline, while at the same time legitimizing what had been done. Now the Committee of Ministers of the CoE has adopted a similar approach and given Turkey a deadline.”

The statement continued: “The genocidal-colonialist Turkish state and the fascist AKP-MHP government want to continue the international conspiracy with the occupation of Kurdistan through the absolute isolation in Imrali and its attacks against the people of Kurdistan and the freedom guerrillas, and on this basis to realize the Kurdish genocide. It is trying to do this with the support it receives from outside, as it has done so far. Everyone must act responsibly in the face of the greatest crimes in history committed by the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government. European institutions, especially the CoE, and all responsible organizations must act with this responsibility. Instead of drawing red lines, immediate action must be taken in view of the grave violations of rights and crimes against humanity, and a definite stop must be put to it.”

The KCK called “on all organizations and individuals who stand for the protection of human rights, particularly lawyers and legal experts: The approach to Rêber Apo can only be described as what it is – a crime against humanity. The approach of the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP government to the Kurdish people and Rêber Apo is essentially an attack on human values. We call on taking a strong stance against this historical unlawfulness and injustice and to take action on this basis.

To date, many decisions taken by international institutions have revealed that the Turkish state has trampled on rights, law, justice, and morality. The decision of the Committee of Ministers of the CoE has once again proved this character of the Turkish state and the rightness of the struggle against it. From this point of view, it is very important that everyone, especially the people of Kurdistan, who participate in and support the global freedom campaign, continue to strengthen their valuable struggle for the physical freedom of Rêber Apo. On this basis, all peoples, especially the people of Kurdistan, the women, youth, and revolutionary, democratic, liberationist forces, must raise the global struggle for freedom against this attack, occupation, isolation, and genocide.”