Jailed PKK leader banned from seeing lawyers for another six months

A new six-month ban has been placed on imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to see his lawyers, Mezopotamya news agency reported on May 7. The last time Öcalan was allowed to meet with his lawyers was on Aug. 7, 2019.

Duvar English

The jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan has been banned from seeing his lawyers for another six months, as part of a new punishment imposed on him, Mezopotamya news agency reported on May 7. The reason for the new ban has not been announced.

The previous six-month ban had ended on April 22. When Öcalan's lawyers filed an application to see their client following the end of the previous ban, their request was turned down by the office of the Execution Judge in Bursa on April 29. Lawyers announced that they appealed the decision on May 6.

A six-month ban was imposed on Öcalan to see his lawyers on Oct. 12, 2021. Asrın Law Office lawyers found out about this ban only when they filed an application on Nov. 22, 2021 to see Öcalan as well as other PKK convicts imprisoned on the İmralı Island.

The last time Öcalan was allowed to see his lawyers was on Aug. 7, 2019. Since then, lawyers have filed more than a hundred petition to see their clients, but they were all turned down.

As for his family, Öcalan was allowed to talk with his brother Mehmet Öcalan on March 25, 2021 on the phone. This was the last time that he held contact with a family member.