ISTANBUL - Asrın Law Office's lawyers applied to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Prison Directorate to meet with their client, PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, whom they had not heard from for more than 27 months.

 

Rezan Sarıca, Raziye Öztürk, Mazlum Dinç and Faik Özgür Erol, lawyers from Asrın Law Office, went to Bursa Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and İmralı Criminal Court to meet with PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been kept in aggravated isolation in İmralı F Type High Security Prison and has had no news for more than 27 months. He applied to the Directorate of the Penitentiary Institution. Lawyers applied to both the prosecutor's office and the prison directorate for Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş, who were held in İmralı.

 

Blocking the views on the grounds of 'prohibition'

 

While no positive or negative response was received to the applications made by lawyers to meet with the PKK Leader twice a week, views are blocked the "disciplinary sanctions" and "lawyer bans" given to Abdullah Öcalan and other detainees Veysi Aktaş, Hamili Yıldırım and Ömer Hayri Konar recently were justified.

 

AYM application from lawyers

 

 His lawyers made 3 separate applications to both the prison and the prosecutor's office on 15 and 23 December 2022 and 3 January 2023, after the disciplinary punishment given to the PKK leader on September 9, 2022, which was the reason for the family view barrier, ended on December 9. On January 4, Bursa Execution Judgeship informed lawyers that Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners were given a new 3-month family visit ban. While the reason for the ban was explained as "disciplinary punishment", no information was shared about the reason why the punishment was given and the date of punishment. The objection made by the lawyers against the decision on January 10 was rejected by the Bursa High Criminal Court on the same day. Lawyers applied to the Constitutional Court (AYM) against the said decision.

 

No ban, no opinion!

 

After the 6-month ban on lawyers for Abdullah Öcalan expired on October 18, 2022, Asrın Law Office's lawyers, who applied for an opinion to the Bursa Execution Judge, requested that they be informed that they wanted to meet with their clients and why the meetings were not held. In its reply to the lawyers, the judgeship stated that there was no prohibition of opinion. However, no comments were made to the lawyers during this period.

 

No response to applications

 

The lawyers, who applied to the judgeship again on October 26, 2022, upon the expiration of the lawyer's visit ban, asked why they were not allowed to meet with their clients when there was no visitation ban. Responding to the lawyers' request, the judgeship announced that Abdullah Öcalan was given a new 6-month "lawyer's ban", which became final on October 21, 2022. The decision was only notified to the lawyers on October 27, 2022. Lawyers of Asrın Law Office submitted a petition to Bursa Execution Judgeship because the content of this sentence was not notified to them. However, no positive or negative response was given to this application.

 

Call to the UN

 

Recalling the application they made to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in September 2022 and the injunctions against it, Asrın Law Office, in the last statement they made after they did not receive any news from their clients for two years, said, “The injunction must be implemented immediately and the clients, especially lawyer visits, It should be ensured that all rights arising from legal and international agreements, including”