ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Two efforts are underway to protest the isolated detention conditions of Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), one in Rojava, northern Syria, and one in Turkey.





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In Turkey, a group of 50 Kurdish politicians and activists have announced that they will begin an “indefinite hunger strike” on September 5. The hunger strikers include mostly civil society activists and three or four lawmakers from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).“We demand the lifting of isolation imposed on Ocalan,” Pervin Buldan of HDP told Reuters. “Our strike will continue until a meeting with Ocalan is provided.”Ocalan is being held in isolation in the island prison of Imrali.Noting that Ocalan has been in prison for nearly 18 years and it has been 510 days since he has had any contact with his lawyers, family or Kurdish leadership, as well as the severe restrictions that he has been under for 46 days since the attempted coup, the group planning the hunger strike expressed worry about his health and security status, according to a statement published on HDP’s website.They also stress the importance of Ocalan to the Kurdish-Turkish peace process. Calling to mind his previous initiative to bring the PKK and Ankara to the negotiating table, inspiring hope that the decades-long conflict may be peacefully resolved, they say that now again, it is time to “break this vicious cycle.”“Each day that ends with deaths deeply hurts every one of us,” reads the statement.They highlight that war and conflict are guided by laws and ethics and accuse Ankara of ignoring the law by barring counsel from meeting with Ocalan.“Our society more than deserves to live together in peace, with all identities and beliefs,” reads the statement. “This is the main task of politicians.”Noting that they have tried legal, humanitarian, political, and diplomatic efforts to have a face-to-face meeting with Ocalan but were repeatedly rebuffed by Ankara, they say that they are now trying a new effort – the indefinite hunger strike.Their only demand is that dealings with Ocalan be done in a legitimate, legal manner.In Rojava, a petition launched by the women’s rights activist group Kongra Star in July, has been signed by hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of organizations, and will now be submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).A delegation from the CPT visited Imrali on April 28 and 29.“The purpose of the visit was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of the (four) prisoners currently held in the establishment and to review the measures taken by the Turkish authorities in the light of the recommendations made by the CPT after its previous visit to the prison (in January 2013),” reads a statement released by the CPT at the time. “In this connection, particular attention was paid to the communal activities offered to the prisoners and the application in practice of their right to receive visits from relatives and lawyers.”The CPT is expected to release a report on its findings but has not done so as of yet.The Kongra Star petition demands an end to the isolation Ocalan is being held under.“As Rojava women, we launched a petition campaign in order to have reliable information from our leadership,” reads a press statement from Kongra Star announcing they will submit the petition to the ECHR and CPT with the request that those bodies “fulfill their duty.”“Mr. Öcalan can determine the future of the world and everybody should take action for him. We particularly call on the CPT to make necessary explanations about their visit to Imralı Prison.”Ocalan’s family was last able to visit him on October 6, 2014 and a delegation from HDP visited him on April 6, 2015. His lawyers have not been permitted to meet with him since 2011.