Source: European Parliament
The EU considers that resuming a credible peace process aiming for a sustained political solution to the Kurdish issue would be a positive step, also essential for the stability in the region.
The Commission is following the situation of Abdullah Öcalan and has taken note of the concerns expressed by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture that the prisoner’s contact with the outside world had been limited. He was prevented from seeing his lawyers and his relatives for 43 months until October 2024.
Afterwards, delegations from Türkiye’s Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi (Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, DEM) visited Öcalan several times.
The Commission also notes that the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê (Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK) remains on the EU list of persons, groups and entities involved in acts of terrorism.
As Türkiye is an EU candidate country and as a member state of the Council of Europe, the Commission expects Ankara to treat inmates according to the principles laid down in the European Convention of Human Rights and the relevant United Nations documents.