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International Initiative
Freedom for Ocalan – Peace in Kurdistan
P.O. Box 100511, D-50445 Koeln
E-Mail: info@freedom-for-ocalan.com
Url: www.freedom-for-ocalan.com
Cologne, 9 January 2004
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE BRIEFINGS:
Abdullah Ocalan: detention situation and
state of health
Previous history:
On February 15, 1999 Abdullah Ocalan was kidnapped on his way from
the Greek embassy in Nairobi (Kenya) to the airport. He was then
tied up and brought to Turkey aboard the aircraft of a Turkish businessman.
This was an act of piracy which ended a week-long odyssey between
Damascus, Moscow, Amsterdam, Rome and Athens - the criminal last
round of a chapter of the European culture of law that was hardly
convincing.
The abduction was accomplished by teaming up the secret services
of Turkey, the US and Israel. That much we know today. No matter
if the Kenyan government was informed about the kidnapping and approved
of it tacitly - the penal codes of all countries involved regard
this as a deprivation of liberty which is liable to prosecution.
Since February 16, 1999 Abdullah Ocalan is kept prisoner on the
Turkish prison island of Imrali. His state of health is highly unsound
prompting concern for his life.
Imrali
Imrali is an island in the Sea of Marmara. Its climate is rough,
the humidity is high. At the beginning of World War I its population
was relocated with a view to military considerations. The prison
as we know it today was built on the remains of an old church and
went into service in 1935. When Abdullah Ocalan was brought to Imrali
all other inmates of this fortress were shifted to other prisons
and the entire island was declared a restricted military area. During
his five-year-captivity the Turkish government reinforced the prison
and made it a super-modern high-security fortress. Today, all of
the island is kept completely under camera surveillance. The air-space
above the island as well as the surrounding water are controlled
rigorously by the military. Whoever wants to pass the check-points
or enter the high-security wing for the first time is subjected
to an iris-scan and a hand-scan the data of which are then saved.
About a thousand soldiers have been deployed there for the complete
surveillance of the restricted area who also serve as guards in
the high-security wing.
Detention situation
Abdullah Ocalan has got a solitary cell of 13 square meters which
is equipped with a milk-glass window. This window can only be opened
a finger's breadth. An air-condition has to secure the fresh air-supply.
The cell is located in a two-storied building with special safeguards.
There is a toilet and a washing facility for personal hygiene. The
cell is subject to a 24-hour surveillance by camera and peephole.
For this task a team of Turkish military officers has been carefully
selected. They rotate regularly. The cell is illuminated over 24
hours causing massive sleep disorders. In general, Abdullah Ocalan
is permitted to see his lawyers for an hour once a week. Since the
beginning of 2002, these visits have been prevented arbitrarily
time and again, resulting in complete isolation for weeks. His immediate
relatives are permitted to see him once a month for an hour. The
room where he sees his lawyers borders to his cell while his relatives
may only see him through a partition glass and over a phone. Twice
a day Abdullah Ocalan is allowed to leave his cell for a walk in
the yard for an hour approximately. The yard is about forty square
meters in size, of gravel soil, and surrounded by high walls with
barbed wire at the top. The anti-torture-committee of the Council
of Europe objected to this and called it insufficient during their
visit on March 2, 1999. All stimuli from the outer world are reduced
to an absolute minimum. His access to information is also very restricted
since the beginning of 2000. He has no TV, and the books and papers
supplied by his lawyers often only partly or not at all handed to
him. There are no apparent criteria for these decisions. Mail is
only handed over after censoring it - if it is handed over at all.
Mr. Ocalan may only have three books in his possession at the same
time. His only source of actual information is a radio that cannot
receive any other but the national channel TRT. He cannot answer
any letters since he is denied the right to correspondence.
Nutrition
Abdullah Ocalan is not allowed to enjoy his right to limited purchase
of food as it is granted by the general statute of the Turkish penal
system. A replenishment of his vitamin-deficient diet is therefore
impossible. His lawyers' efforts to bring an end to this situation
have not been successful so far. Apart from this there are no limitations
to Mr. Ocalan's nourishment. His food is prepared in a kitchen specially
set up for this purpose. It is quantitatively sufficient according
to Abdullah Ocalan.
State of his health
Before he was kidnapped Abdullah Ocalan suffered only from a chronic
sinusitis. Otherwise his state of health was stable. However, while
his imprisonment continued his health worsened substantially at
least in part due to the severe psychic conditions of his solitary
confinement on Imrali and, physically, the high air-humidity prevailing
in the Sea of Marmara. The anti-torture-committee of the Council
of Europe agreed with this after a visit to the island. This is
why the committee invited Turkey to improve Mr. Ocalan's situation
noticeably.
The Turkish authorities, however, have not taken any steps in this
direction so far.
He suffers from a permanent under-stimulation of his senses that
has already severely affected his senses of smell and taste. His
cell has been continuously lighted for nearly five years now already
resulting in massive sleep disorders. This can be called torture
by all means and purposes. Apart from his chronic sinusitis the
first symptoms of asthma start showing. An allergic rhinitis together
with chronic angina make it difficult for him to breathe causing
choking fits during his sleep from which he does not easily recover.
According to private doctors these fits might bring about an apnoea
or a cardiac infarction that would put his life at risk.
Hence, Abdullah Ocalan does not enjoy sufficient medical care.
Turkeys pleadings before the European Court of Human Rights reveal
the fact that hitherto the Kurdish leader has not been examined
adequately. Once a week he is examined for about fifteen minutes
by a team of three doctors under the control of the Health Department.
However, he is not informed about the results of these examinations
nor are his lawyers who would have a right to this according to
Turkish law. The medical team consists mainly of general practitioners
who do not possess a specific knowledge for this situation. The
patient is only examined by appearances, that is he is auscultated
with a stethoscope, his blood pressure and pulse are taken, and
his respiratory tracts are examined with the naked eye. Until today
no x-rays, ECGs or blood samples have been taken because these devices
which would be necessary for a thorough medical examination are
not available there. Without these and in such a short time in-depth
results are impossible.
This is why Abdullah Ocalan demands an independent team of doctors.
This team is then supposed to search for the cause of his complaints
and assess the real state of his health without pressure of time.
The results then shall be made available to the public.
Conclusion
Our knowledge about Mr. Ocalan's state of health is based on the
impression his lawyers have gained from contact with their client
or the few documents that were available to them. Hence, a fair
professional assessment is impossible. This makes an independent
team of doctors absolutely necessary. It seems clear that five years
of isolation have caused massive physical and psychic health problems
which is why the anti-torture-committee of the Council of Europe
also demands a noticeable improvement of the situation. Numerous
papers examining sensory deprivation support this view. We may safely
draw the conclusion that Mr. Ocalan's health is at least seriously
at risk. However, the situation on Imrali, the complete isolation
of Mr. Ocalan, is utterly inhumane anyway. This situation is in
violation of both Turkish and international law which is why this
situation ought to be brought to an end immediately
Imrali remains a special case that cannot be justified by any reason
whatsoever.
If Mr. Ocalan's health should further worsen the political consequences
might even become more serious. Even after his illegal abduction
a majority of the Kurds sympathises with the Kurdish leader and
observes this issue very warily.
Due to his influence the Kurdish side of the conflict today uses
strictly political means in their struggle. However, they will not
accept, they say, any harm to Abdullah Ocalan. The increasing number
of clashes between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish military make
it clear that the present ceasefire remains a very fragile one.
International efforts are needed to ease the tensions.
What is needed to achieve some kind of détente:
· The Council of Europe's "Committee for the Prevention
of Torture and Degrading or Inhumane Treatment (CPT)" must
examine Mr. Ocalan's prison conditions again. Their recommendations
to Turkey have to be monitored with more emphasis.
· An independent international team of doctors must be sent
to Imrali by the CPT. This team must examine Mr. Ocalan thoroughly
and make their results public.
· Mr. Ocalan's conditions of solitary confinement must be
ended immediately.
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