BERFÎN EVRAN

News Center-On October 10, 2023, an international campaign demanding “freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question” was launched in 74 countries with the support of NGOs, unions, political parties and writers. As part of the campaign, Kurdish people and their friends in four parts of Kurdistan and many countries have held marches, protests and released press statements. On July 26, 2024, 69 Nobel Laureates wrote a letter to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee for Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

On September 17, 2024, the Committee of Ministers (CoM), the Council of Europe's decision-making body, held a meeting to discuss the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in the prison island of Imrali and the violation of his “right to hope”. The life sentence against Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan without prospect of parole or release is against the principle of “right to hope”, the committee indicated on September 20, announcing that the committee would issue an interim decision in September 2025 after monitoring the implementation of the ECHR decision for a year.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Kariane Westrheim, professor emerita at the Department of Education, University of Bergen, Norway and the chair of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), evaluated the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, international campaign demanding his freedom and the ECHR decision.

*Could you please introduce yourself?

My name is Kariane Westrheim, I serve as professor emerita at the Department of Education, University of Bergen, Norway. Since 2002 my professional and personal commitment has revolved around Kurdish issues. For example, is my doctoral thesis an investigation of the PKK's thinking around knowledge and education, in the mountains and in the movement. Since 2004, I have been the chair of EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), which organizes annual international conferences (“International Conference on EU Turkey and the Kurds”) In the European Parliament, where we try to address issues and problems that are relevant for the Kurds and at the same time are relevant to an international audience. This year we will held the 19th conference supported by political groups (GUE/NGL, S&D, Greens/EFA) in the EP. EUTCC makes recommendations to EU institutions and other government institutions, as well as NGOs. The conference seeks to bring together the top level and Kurdish politics, scholars, lawyers, journalists, politicians, NGOs and activists from Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, India and the United States covering a wide variety of speeches. These conferences have been seen as awareness-arousal vehicles and have been well covered by the international press. They have offered the Kurds an international platform to have their case presented by well-known persons.

 Over the years I have learned a lot from the Kurdish movement. The perseverance, energy and unity in the fight for political, cultural and linguistic rights and autonomy has been and is a great inspiration to me.

‘Who is the CPT protecting?’

*On July 26, 2024, 69 Nobel Laureates wrote a letter to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee for Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. Could you please tell us what the Nobel Laureates demand in the letter?

 The Nobel initiative was spearheaded by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1997, Jody Williams (US), for her work against landmines. Williams saw the need for a strong and clear expression of dissatisfaction with Turkey's long-standing and destructive policy towards the Kurds and the international policy of silence which means that the abuses just continue without countermeasures being initiated. But there was also a very clear letter sent to President Erdogan, with somewhat similar content.

 In these letters, the signatories pointed out that already in 2019, 50 Nobel Prize laureates sent a letter of support to those involved in the hunger strikes in Turkish prisons led by Leyla Güven. They called for an end to the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan. The various letters were addressed to the CPT, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and President Erdogan.

 In the present letter dated Nobel Prize laureates applies again because of the aggravated situation of Mr. Öcalan. Their concern “(…) arises not only from his isolation and the continuous violations of his rights but also from the lack of meaningful efforts taken by the European entities as well as the UN Human Rights Committee on his behalf. While his rights are guaranteed under the Turkish constitution and domestic legislation, under statutes and regulations of the European Union, and through international law, none of that seems to matter.”

The letter especially underlines that the CPT has had the most access to prisoners in Imrali Prison. Despite its 30 reports it remains unclear what impact visits and reports have had on the treatment of Mr. Öcalan. After CPT announced that it had visited Imrali in September 2022, in a subsequent meeting with his lawyers, it refused to provide them with any information about the visit.

In a press release February 23, 2024, and because of international pressure, the CPT confirmed that it had seen and interviewed Mr. Öcalan and three other prisoners held there during its visit in 2022. CPT explained that it had finished a report about that visit in the summer of 2023, the Turkish government did not approve its release to the public. But the CPT is entitled to make its observations public without government approval. It can also initiate action against states that do not comply with its recommendations on conditions and treatment of prisoners. But the Committee has not taken these steps. The Nobel letter therefore raises a relevant and revealing question: Who is the CPT protecting?  The state itself or the people whose rights it is the CPT's duty to defend? 

The same might be asked of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which stated that the aggravated life sentence given to Mr. Öcalan in 2014 is against the prohibition of torture and that some changes should be made to the law. It also stated that a life sentence without prospect of parole or release is against the principle - ‘right to hope’. The Committee of Ministers is meant to monitor and ensure the implementation of ECHR decisions. Turkey has not implemented this decision, yet the Committee of Ministers only put this issue on its agenda in 2021, seven years after the fact and so far, has taken no effective action on its implementation.

The Nobel letter ends by calling on all these bodies to fulfill their obligations regarding protecting the rights of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan.

The main message in all the letters was that Mr. Öcalan, who is viewed by most Kurds as their legitimate political representative, has spent a quarter of a century in isolation, in violation of human rights protections that should be enforced by the CPT, OHCHR, ECHR, CoE and other bodies. The letters state that the “only way forward to peace between the Turkish and Kurdish people is through dialogue and negotiation with Abdullah Öcalan” and call for “his release from Imrali and for the suspended peace negotiations to be resumed.” (press release 26.07.24). They also urged EU bodies to contribute to a peaceful solution to the 40-year-long dispute between the Turkish authorities and the PKK and that Öcalan be put in a position to play his role in such a process.

‘They replied is both positive and promising’

*As we know, the European Court of Human Rights and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe wrote response letters. Could you please tell us what they say in their letters and what your comments on their responses are?

One month after the Nobel letters were sent, the ECHR and the CoM responded on behalf of their presidents. The fact that they replied is both positive and promising. Lithuania, has the presidency of the Committee of Ministers writes that they have forwarded the Nobel letter to all relevant departments in the CoE and they ensured us that the Committee will monitor member states' compliance with their membership obligations. They also inform about the ECHR meeting 17-19 September regarding Turkey's aggravating life sentences without bringing to the table proper or trustworthy evidence.

It is expected that the September meeting will discuss the 2014 ECHR ruling concerning Mr. Öcalan’s life sentence and the violation of Article 3 in the European Convention of Human Rights which prohibits inhumane or degrading treatment. As mentioned above the Court will probably argue that a life sentence without prospect of release violates the “right to hope”.

The reply letter from the ECHR clearly shows that they have received the message from the Nobel laureates which they perceive calls on the ECHR to fulfill its obligations regarding the protection of Abdullah Öcalan's basic human rights. They conclude by thanking for the input of for the Nobel recipients bringing their views to attention.

In our reply back to both CoM and the ECHR expressed gratitude to be informed but strongly underlined that our experience unfortunately is that Turkey pays little attention to such calls, so in practice - no changes will take place. Therefore, we encouraged the Committee of Ministers to take the initiative to send a delegation to Imrali prison island to investigate the situation and state of health of the life prisoner Mr. Abdullah Öcalan as it is 42 months since he has had contact with the outside world, to the great sorrow of his family and increasing concern from his lawyers, who are denied access despite repeated applications for this. Since Turkey is a member state, we suggested that more pressure must be put on Turkey to grant a visit from the Council of Europe.

‘The very best thing we can do is to work diplomatically’

*Do you have any other plan to highlight the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan?

There are already several good international initiatives, both when it comes to sending a delegation to Imrali, calling for the release of Mr. Öcalan, and resuming peace talks between the PKK and the Turkish authorities. I believe that President Erdogan and his party colleagues and collaborators are fully aware of each one of these initiatives. They know but don't answer them. In the current situation, I don't think we can expect much from that side either. But that does not at all mean that we should refrain from trying, because just the fact that we constantly challenge them is a signal that we will not give in, that we will not let them exercise their politics unhindered, but that we will keep bothering them. I believe that the very best thing we can do is to work diplomatically, each of us up against our own political authorities. Through the Nobel initiative and the correspondence that came in its wake, contact must be kept warm. It will be important in the future to encourage the CoE, CoM, ECHR, CPT and all other relevant European bodies not only to talk about what they can do, there has been more than enough of that, but to see that they do it. It is a big challenge, and nothing will be solved quickly or easily, but by being steadfast and persistent, every step we take can be meaningful.

*On October 10, 2023, an international campaign demanding “freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question” was launched in 74 countries with the support of NGOs, unions, political parties and writers. Since then, Kurdish people and their friends in four parts of Kurdistan and many countries have held marches, protests and released press statements demanding freedom for Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question. What are your thoughts about the campaign? Why is the freedom of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan important for Kurdish people and the people of the world?

Abdullah Öcalan, is a central figure in the Kurdish struggle for autonomy and rights. For most Kurds, he represents the embodiment of their quest for self-determination and the defense of their cultural and political rights, historically oppressed by the states in which Kurds reside, particularly Turkey. Öcalan’s freedom is seen as essential to resolving the long-standing Kurdish question, a political and cultural issue affecting millions of Kurds across several countries.

But Öcalan has become so much more – he is a symbol of resistance against oppression globally. His imprisonment and isolation for 25 years have drawn criticism from human rights organisations, as well as the European Court of Human Rights, which in 2014 found that his life sentence without the possibility of parole violates basic human rights standards (Vigil for Öcalan; Arrested Lawyers Initiative). The present campaign has gathered support of unions, political parties, and NGOs from around the world, reflecting the campaign’s significance in broader struggles for human rights and justice.

 Abdullah Öcalan's freedom is important not only as a symbol of Kurdish rights but also as a step toward achieving broader peace and justice in the region and beyond. His imprisonment has come to represent the Kurdish people's broader fight for recognition, justice, and autonomy, while his ideas continue to influence international debates on democracy, human rights, and peacebuilding.

 But here I would like to add that although the campaign has mobilised widely, it is not enough. There needs to be initiative on many fronts, for example diplomatically towards states and authorities and not least towards institutions that set the tone internationally, such as the European bodies mentioned above.