TURKISH COURT COMMUTES OCALAN DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
For immediate release - 04 October 2002
The state security court in Turkey has commuted the death sentence of Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan to life imprisonment with no chance of parole or amnesty, reported the state-run Anatolian news agency yesterday.
Ocalan was arrested in Kenya and convicted of treason in 1999 for his role in the PKK’s 16 year guerrilla war against the Turkish authorities. The conflict resulted in the death of over 30,000 people in the mainly Kurdish south-east of the country. Ocalan remains in solitary confinement as the only prisoner on Imrali Island.
The Turkish court’s decision was taken in line with the recent reform package passed by Turkey’s parliament which, alongside the abolition of the death penalty, also included extended minority rights and greater freedom of expression and association.
The Kurdish Human Rights Project welcomes the state security
court’s decision. However, Mark Muller, the British lawyer representing
Ocalan before the European Court of Human Rights, stresses the need to place
the decision within Turkey’s general political context, in particular,
Turkey’s bid to join the European Union (EU): “The announcement
comes at a potentially critical time in Turkey’s bid for membership
[of the EU]. The European Commission meets next week to review the progress
of EU candidate countries, including Turkey, towards meeting EU accession
requirements. The timing of the announcement of the decision in the Ocalan
case is not merely coincidental. The Turkish state is under considerable pressure
to reform its human rights record in order to meet EU accession criteria.
The abolition of the death penalty is but one step in this process”.
In addition, a ruling from the European Court of Human Right on the death
penalty in Ocalan’s case against Turkey is expected imminently. As early
as July of this year, the Turkish press reported indications that the Court
intended to find against Turkey on this issue, a source of embarrassment that
the Turkish state would like to avoid, given the continuing influence Ocalan
wields and his focus for Kurdish opposition.
The KHRP and Ocalan’s lawyer Mark Muller stress
that a clear and definitive ruling from the European Court on the use of the
death penalty in Turkey remains essential. “Despite the state security
court’s recent decision, the death penalty in Turkey remains part of
the Constitution and can be imposed in times of war or imminent war. That
means there is still the potential for abuse.” Muller refers to the
European Court’s findings that the Turkish state security courts are
neither impartial nor independent. “The possibility remains that the
security court could overrule its own decision in the future, particularly
if there is a change of government following the elections in November.”
There is an overwhelming need for the European Court to set a clear precedent
on this issue to ensure the protection of the fundamental freedoms of all
the citizens of Turkey.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
1. The Kurdish Human Rights Project works for the
promotion and protection of human rights within the Kurdish regions of Turkey,
Iraq, Iran, Syria and the former Soviet Union.
2. The European Court of Human Rights was set up in
Strasbourg in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention
on Human Rights. On 1 November 1998 a full-time Court was established, replacing
the original two-tier system of a part-time Commission and Court.
For further information please contact: Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director / Philip Leach, Legal Director / Angela Debnath, Public Relations Officer Kurdish Human Rights Project on the address below.
Please e-mail KHRP at khrp@khrp.org,
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