Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues regarding prisoners I know the Acting Leader will be very familiar that we regularly bring up the issue of prisoners and justice in the Council of Europe. I am particularly concerned about what is happening in Türkiye and have been for some considerable time. The rule of law has come under severe attack in Türkiye in recent years. Thousands of academics, opposition party members, and journalists have been detained or arrested arbitrarily. They are mainly those who show support for peace or for the release of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan through peaceful protests and signing petitions. They were arrested and called terrorists. Ironically, if you call for peace in Türkiye, you are now actually deemed to be a terrorist. Academics have been arrested for simply signing a petition.

The conditions in Turkish jails are a cause for huge concern to me. Türkiye now has a policy of imprisoning people until their deaths. In other words, any opportunity for parole or release at a later time has been ruled out. This has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights regarding Abdullah Öcalan himself because it gives him no hope of release. Türkiye has also designed new prisons specifically to put three prisoners in a cell because it knows when three prisoners are put in a cell and kept in isolation, two prisoners will go against one. It is designed for cruelty. Imagine that. That is official state policy in Türkiye and has been for some time. There is the position of isolation in particular. Abdullah Öcalan has now been in jail for 24 years having been kidnapped in Kenya by Türkiye in 1999. No one has been able to visit him for years. The last phone call was with his brother more than two years ago and it was cut off. He is not allowed to see his lawyers. He is not allowed to see his family. This policy of preventing family visits and legals visits is state policy now in Türkiye. It is a horrendous situation in a state that really should be better. In the most recent election, hundreds of people were arrested prior to the election. These were people who were effectively with the opposition. I call for an urgent debate on this issue. It is time that this Parliament brought attention to the plight of prisoners in Türkiye.

In the few seconds I have left, I also want to call for support once again for the release of Julian Assange. I am glad that Dublin City Council voted the other evening to call for his release. He faces up to 175 years in prison. As we know, his only crime is to have called out war crimes perpetrated by US forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places. What is happening to him is absolutely appalling. This is happening because the US want to make an example of him. The US wants to send a warning to journalists across the world that if they tell the truth about what the US has done and if they expose the US's war crimes, they can expect this level of punishment. As it is truly outrageous, I call for the Seanad Chamber to have a debate about the release of Julian Assange.