Şehriban Aslan

 

AMED- Speaking about the ‘right to hope’ that should be applied to Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, lawyer Eylül Özgültekin said: "Making use of the right to hope means removing the obstacles in front of the process. It also paves the way for Mr Öcalan to express his words to the society more easily."

 

Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's 27 February call for peace and democratic society, which was described as the ‘call of the century’, resonated in many parts of the world and received support from different segments of society. Following this historic call, the PKK held its 12th Extraordinary Congress in two different regions simultaneously on 5-7 May. At the congress, comprehensive evaluations were made on the PKK's ideological, political and organisational line, and critical decisions were taken regarding the new struggle process. The congress, attended by many delegates from different fields, was an important turning point in terms of organisational unity and common will. However, although months have passed since this call for peace, no concrete steps have been taken by the state.

 

While discussing what will happen in the current process and what steps should be taken, one of the most fundamental topics on the agenda continues to be the issue of the ‘right to hope’ for Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan. While emphasising that this step is a vital threshold that will pave the way for social peace, lawyer Eylül Özgültekin, a member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD), made evaluations on the importance of the right to hope.

 

‘The first decision is Öcalan Decision No. 2’

 

Stating that aggravated life imprisonment has replaced execution in crude terms, Eylül Özgültekin said: "Aggravated life sentences for crimes within the scope of the Anti-Terror Law are de facto a long-term death sentence. Following the applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), this situation started to be discussed through the concept of ‘right to hope’. The right to hope is related to the expectation that prisoners will not serve their sentences until death and that they have hope for life. The ECtHR judgements emphasise the need for a periodic review of the time prisoners spend in prison and the existence of an independent mechanism to ensure this. The first judgement on the right to hope is the ‘Öcalan judgement No. 2’. Although no specific period of time is mentioned in this judgement, the previous case law of the ECtHR emphasises that the conditions of the sentence should be re-evaluated after 25 years at the latest."

 

‘It has become a general problem of society’

 

Eylül Özgültekin stated that the death penalty was abolished immediately after the capture of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999. Eylül Özgültekin said, "In line with Turkey's commitments during the European Union accession process, the death penalty was abolished and replaced by aggravated life imprisonment. However, despite this change, there is still an outstanding legal regulation problem for Turkey. Finally, the Council of Europe has given Turkey a deadline of 2024 to make regulations on this issue. If Turkey fails to fulfil this obligation, an interim sanction process will be on the agenda. This situation has turned into a social issue that directly concerns many prisoners, not only Mr Abdullah Öcalan. Regardless of political identity, the issue of the right to hope creates a serious inequality in the execution regime. Especially for those sentenced under the Anti-Terror Law, much different and heavier execution practices come into play compared to judicial offenders. This creates a structural injustice in terms of the duration and implementation of sentences. Therefore, the most fundamental need for the solution of this problem is to eliminate the inequality in the execution regime. Only in this way can the fundamental human rights of detainees and convicts, especially the right to hope, be secured."

 

‘One of the actors of this process is Mr Ocalan’

 

Drawing attention to Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's call on 27 February, Eylül Özgültekin reminded MHP President Devlet Bahçeli's speech beforehand. Referring to the current process, Eylül Özgültekin said, "A clear name has not yet been given to this process: Solution process, peace process, dialogue process? Whatever the name, with this process, the ‘right to hope’ has now become a touchable issue. At this point, one reality is clearly evident: The person whom the Kurdish people see as the main actor in this process, whom they regard as a leader and with whom the state recognises as a legitimate interlocutor and carries out the process together, is today under conditions of aggravated isolation. Moreover, this isolation is not only a problem of today; it is a structural practice that has been going on for many years. However, experience has shown that whenever there is a ground for dialogue, many obstacles to the democratisation of Turkey begin to be removed. Therefore, one of the actors in this process is Mr Abdullah Öcalan. His enjoyment of the right to hope means both the removal of political and legal obstacles in front of this process and the opening of the way for him to speak his words to the society more easily."

 

‘We must do our part on legal grounds’

 

Finally, Eylül Özgültekin made the following statements "As a lawyer, we have very basic responsibilities such as discussing this issue on a legal basis and doing everything we can on a legal basis. I can state that we will fulfil whatever our share is."