STRUGGLES

SOLIDARITYWITH PRISONERS
Ex -prisoners and human rights organisations have asked for activists
outside ofTurkey and Kurdistan to make people aware ofthe situation for
Kurdish prisoners.
They asked people to help them campaign:
act in solidaritywit h the people of kurdistan
For the release ofsick prisoners - According to the Istanbul branch ofthe Human Rights
Association (IHD), more than 600 prisoners are sick and 220 are so sick they should be
released according to law. Many prisoners die in prison because they are unable to access
proper treatment. For example, According to the IHD, Mehmet Cappole died in prison in
2015. He had already served 20 years and should have been released due to his poor health.
Similarly, Abdullay Okçay died ofcancer in prison last year. He should have been released
too.
For the end of'Weighted/Aggravated life imprisonment' - When the death penalty was
abolished in Turkey, as part ofthe programme of'harmonisation' with the policies ofthe
European Union, sentences ofaggravated life imprisonment were introduced. These
sentences allow for a longer period ofimprisonment. People given sentences of'aggravated
life imprisonment' are overwhelmingly political prisoners and are subjected to a catalogue of
other repressive measures such as restrictions on visitors, time outside oftheir cell and
isolation.
For an end to child imprisonment - The IHD reported 444 detentions ofchildren during 2014.
A recent report revealed that fifteen year old Onur Önal died after a beating by other inmates
in Maltepe prison in Istanbul in 2014. He had been imprisoned alongside people convicted of
sexual crimes.
For the release ofAbdullah Öcalan - Many Kurdish organisations and ex-prisoners asked
people outside Kurdistan to campaign for the release ofÖcalan, the leader ofthe PKK who
was arrested in 1999 and given a death sentence, which was later reduced to life
imprisonment. They also asked people to campaign against Öcalan's isolation. In the UK, the
Peace in Kurdistan campaign is supporting the campaign to free Öcalan
(http://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/resources/abdullah-ocalan/free-ocalan/).
According to a campaign statement:
"Öcalan is indispensable to resolving the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. But he cannot fulfil this role from
prison, due to the onerous conditions and the extremely restricted communication he is at present entirely
cut offfrom the outside world."
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