Improving prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan has been a key Kurdish demand in push to end PKK-Turkiye conflict.
Published On ۲ Nov ۲۰۲۶
Turkiye has moved the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, to a newly-built section of the island prison where he has been held for ۲۷ years, pro-Kurdish legislators said as they urged Ankara to speed up the stalled peace process.
Mithat Sancar, a member of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) delegation that regularly visits Ocalan, confirmed the transfer on Saturday in an interview with the Kurdish television channel Medya Haber TV.
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He said the move “necessitates an acceleration of the (peace) process”, which he said had been paused for two months. “The process cannot proceed with unilateral expectations and demands,” he said.
Fellow DEM politician Pervin Buldan said on Sunday that Ocalan himself had announced the transfer, but played down its significance.
“This new facility is part of the prison; it is not somewhere outside the prison,” she said, according to the AFP news agency. “The question of status cannot be defined solely by Mr Ocalan having moved to this location.”
Erbil-based broadcaster Kurdistan۲۴ described the facility as a new house built for Ocalan on Imrali island. It said the move was seen as part of preparations to give him a more active role in the peace process. Better prison conditions for Ocalan have been a key Kurdish demand.
The PKK was founded in ۱۹۷۸ by Ocalan and others, initially fighting for an independent Kurdish state, before shifting its demands to autonomy and greater rights for Turkiye’s Kurds, who make up an estimated ۱۵ to ۲۰ percent of the population. The group launched an armed campaign against the Turkish state in ۱۹۸۴ and is designated a “terrorist” organisation by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.
The conflict has killed more than ۴۰,۰۰۰ people. Ocalan has been held on Imrali, in the Sea of Marmara, since his capture in ۱۹۹۹.
In February last year, Ocalan called on the PKK to disband and disarm and the group announced its dissolution that May. Turkiye’s parliament adopted a law offering limited amnesty for PKK fighters in August and the PKK leadership has repeatedly demanded Ocalan’s release as part of the process.
