ZEYNEB XELÎF

Deri ez-Zor- An aggravated isolation has been imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held in Imrali (a high-security prison on the island of Imrali) for 25 years since he was brought to Turkey on February 15, 1999. The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck the Gulf of Gemlik on December 4, 2023 raised concerns about Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has not been allowed to see his lawyers and family members for 33 months. On October 10, 2023, an international campaign titled, “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, political solution to the Kurdish issue” was launched and 74 press conferences demanding the freedom for Abdullah Öcalan were held around the world on the same day to mark the beginning of the campaign. Since then, many protests and activities have been held in many countries to demand his freedom.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Amira Muhammad, member of the Zenûbiya Women's Community, said, “The isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan is a psychological torture. The aim of the isolation is to isolate him from the world.” Amira Muhammad noted that the ideology and philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan can solve all problems suffered by the Middle Eastern countries. “His ideology guarantees the rights of all people from different nationalities and religions. For this reason, the capitalist countries see him as a treat against them. We condemn the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan. Isolation is a practice that violates all international conventions.”

‘They do not want people to have a free life’

Abeer Al-Hussein, another member of the Zenûbiya Women's Community, also condemned the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan. “The isolation imposed on him is a policy of the foreign and regional powers. Because they do not want people to have a free life. We demand the isolation imposed on him be lifted immediately and his freedom.”