PKK leader Öcalan allowed family visit for first time in over four years

Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party MP Ömer Öcalan visited imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, marking the first such visit in over four and a half years.

The visit started at 11.00 am yesterday and lasted for about two hours, according to Mezopotamya Agency (MA). Ömer Öcalan was transported to the prison on İmralı Island, located in the Marmara Sea, via a specially arranged ferry.

Following the meeting, Ömer Öcalan shared a statement on social media, relaying a message from his uncle. “Mr. Öcalan assessed the political developments and asked for this message to be conveyed to the public: ‘The isolation continues. If the conditions are met, I have both the theoretical and practical capacity to move this process from a ground of conflict and violence to one of legal and political resolution’.”

Abdullah Öcalan, 75, was  in good health, added the MP.

He further noted that family visits are a legal right and “we want them to continue regardless of the circumstances.”

This was the first time a family member had been allowed to meet with Abdullah Öcalan since March 2020. His last meeting with his lawyers took place in August 2019. The PKK leader’s last contact with the outside world was a brief and interrupted phone call with his brother Mehmet Öcalan in March 2021. This isolation persisted through constant disciplinary action against Öcalan, imposing family and attorney visit bans.

Since then, DEM Party and other pro-Kurdish groups have protested Öcalan’s isolation. His lawyers have filed hundreds of requests to meet with him during this period without success. Also, Kurdish political prisoners have organized multiple hunger strikes, demanding an end to his isolation.

This latest visit comes as Turkey is witnessing renewed debates around a possible new peace process. The idea gained momentum after recent statements from Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who hinted on Oct 22 that Öcalan could be allowed to address parliament and declare the dissolution of the PKK. In return, Bahçeli suggested that Öcalan might be eligible for the “right to hope,” a legal mechanism that could pave the way for his release.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has voiced his support for his ally’s recent moves, describing them as a “historic opportunity” for Turkey. Meanwhile, the DEM Party has responded with cautious optimism, emphasizing that any progress would require the lifting of Öcalan’s isolation and improvements in the conditions of other Kurdish political prisoners.

The PKK remains skeptical of the government’s intentions, asserting that the Turkish ruling bloc is trying to align with Kurdish groups to navigate a potential regional conflict between Israel and Iran, which they anticipate could expand across the Middle East.

(VK)