News Flash
Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee
examines conditions of detention of Abdullah Öcalan
STRASBOURG, 19.02.2003 - A delegation of the
Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has just returned from a two-day visit
to Turkey. The delegation, which comprised a
Belgian lawyer and a Swiss forensic doctor, visited the prison on the island of
Imralı and interviewed Abdullah ÖCALAN, the establishment’s sole inmate.
The CPT's visit was triggered by persistent
reports that relatives and lawyers of Abdullah Öcalan have been experiencing
considerable difficulties in gaining access to Imralı island in order to
visit him. The delegation reviewed his conditions of detention in the light of
recommendations made by the CPT after its previous visits to Imralı Closed
Prison (in March 1999 and September 2001) (*).
In the course of the visit, the CPT’s delegation
met Levent ERSÜZ, Regional Gendarmerie Commander of Bursa and Emin ÖZLER,
Chief Public Prosecutor of Bursa, and discussed in detail with them means of
ensuring that Abdullah Öcalan's right to receive visits from his relatives and
lawyers is fully effective in practice. Further, the delegation held
consultations with two of Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers.
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(*) The reports on these
visits, as well as the responses of the Turkish authorities, have been made
public and are available at the following address : http://www.cpt.coe.int.
