NEWS CENTRE- A large number of international participants, including academics, trade unionists, politicians, human rights defenders, human rights defenders and 69 Nobel Laureates, have sent a letter to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calling for the freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

A large number of international participants, including academics, trade unionists, politicians, human rights defenders, trade unionists, politicians, human rights defenders and 69 Nobel Laureates, have written a letter to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe calling for the freedom of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

Emphasis on release

 

The letter was addressed to Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the Chairman of the Committee, with the demand that Abdullah Öcalan be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family immediately and eventually be released. The letter referred to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2014 on Abdullah Öcalan's right to hope and stated that the Committee may prepare an ‘interim decision’ if the call of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in September 2023 is not complied with.

 

The letter emphasised that Abdullah Öcalan is ready for a peaceful process despite his 26 years of imprisonment and stated that this process is critical for ending the conflict in Turkey and contributing to lasting peace in the Middle East.

 

 Call for concrete steps 

 

Trade union representatives, politicians, civil society organisations, academics, journalists, human rights activists and artists who signed the letter stated that a real solution and peace cannot be achieved without the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. The letter called on the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to take ‘concrete legal, diplomatic and political steps’. The signatories emphasised that the regular access of Abdullah Öcalan to his family and lawyers and his eventual release are critical for the resolution of the Kurdish problem in Turkey.

 

The signatories called on the Committee to take action in this process.