Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am used to seeing Senator Gavan to the right, so he will forgive me for not seeing him right in front of me.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

No worries. I am always on the left.

The Minister of State is very welcome. Last Sunday, thousands of protesters across Diyarbakr in Türkiye defied police restrictions and gathered to demand the release of imprisoned Kurdish leader, Abdullah Öcalan, and a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue. The protestors mobilised in different areas of the city, resisting a ban imposed on the rally by the authorities. They chanted slogans and called for an end to Öcalan's isolation and the oppressive policies of the state.

It is a matter of record that Öcalan was a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and led it into the Kurdish-Turkish conflict in 1984. He was abducted from Nairobi in Kenya in February 1999 by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization and has been imprisoned on mral Island in Türkiye ever since. He was sentenced to death following his original trial. That sentence was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment when Türkiye abolished the death policy. It is important to note that in 2005 the European Court of Human Rights ruled Türkiye had violated Articles 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to allow Öcalan to appeal his arrest and by sentencing him to death without a fair trial. Öcalan's request for a retrial was refused by Turkish courts. He is a political prisoner who has advocated for peace since the 1993 PKK ceasefire. He has spent most of his 25 years in prison in almost complete isolation. For many years he was the only prisoner on the island, with 1,000 troops guarding him.

I do not believe I or the Minister of State could possibly comprehend the horrors of that isolation. Two weeks ago I had the privilege of being in the room for Julian Assange's first public appearance since his release from prison. Speaking about isolation he said:

The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey. It strips away one's sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence".

From July 2011 to May 2019, Öcalan's lawyers were not allowed to see him. From July 2011 to December 2017, his lawyers filed more than 700 appeals for visits but all were rejected. His last direct contact with lawyers took place in August 2019, which is five years ago, while his latest communication with a family member was a brief phone call in the spring of 2021 and that was suddenly curtailed by prison authorities. We have no idea of the toll all this has taken on Öcalan, who is now 75 years of age, or if he is even alive. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture stated in August that it had visited mral Prison nine times so far, with the last visit taking place in September 2022. Upon being asked why the report of this last visit had not been published, the CPT responded it had not received authorisation from Türkiye.The CPT made its concerns about the situation of Mr. Öcalan and the other prisoners on mral island clear, also stating the fact that he is being held in solitary confinement for 159 hours out of 168 hours per week is a state of affairs that is not acceptable. It is also important to note that in 2014 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the life sentence of Öcalan violates the principle of the European Convention's right to hope.

While all this is going on, Türkiye continues to use oppression against those struggling for democratic rights within the state and externally. Kurdish political leaders are subject to imprisonment, with literally centuries of sentences being placed upon them, European Court of Human Rights rulings are routinely ignored and the autonomous state of north and east Syria, whose forces were key to defeating Isis, remains under attack. Just last Thursday, two children aged five and nine were murdered by Turkish forces.

What can our Government do to raise the case of Mr. Öcalan and to make the case for democratic dialogue and a peaceful resolution of all these issues?

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. It is clear that he has been following this matter very closely for a long period. He has a great deal of general information and also background information about the person directly involved, including where things have been, the visits, and the isolation. I cannot possibly appreciate how bad it is. I hear what the Senator is saying, and he knows it too, but to be in solitary confinement for a long number of years is beyond comprehension for most of us. As he said, Mr. Öcalan's last visit was more than two years ago, and he has been in this one prison for 25 years. That is a phenomenal thing. I do not know how his mind copes with that.

Ireland remains concerned regarding the case of Abdullah Öcalan, who has been in prison on the Turkish island of mral since 1999. Türkiye is a fellow member of the Council of Europe and a candidate for European membership. Ireland has made clear, both bilaterally and multilaterally, our concerns regarding human rights in Türkiye, including in relation to prisoners and the implementation of rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. In the case of Mr. Öcalan, in 2005 the court ruled that Türkiye had violated Articles 3, 5 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to allow him to appeal his arrest and by sentencing him to death without a fair trial. In 2014, the court ruled that Türkiye breached the European Court of Human Rights by excluding the possibility of parole.

As a member of the Oireachtas delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, PACE, Senator Gavan will be aware of the Council of Europe's extensive engagement on this area, which Ireland fully supports. Our permanent representative to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg closely follows this particular case. In a 2019 report, the Council of Europe committee for the prevention of torture stated that the restrictions on Mr. Öcalan in the prison on the island were not acceptable. In March 2023, the same committee published a report on its visit to the high-security prison where Mr Öcalan and three other inmates are being held. The report stated that detention conditions had significantly improved, if you do not mind, for Mr Öcalan and were satisfactory for the three other inmates. However, the committee expressed serious concern that the prisoners’ contact with the outside world had been further limited in that period, and that Mr Öcalan had not been allowed to receive visits from his family or lawyers. I consider that a basic flaw in the whole system, despite the report stating that his conditions have improved.

At EU level, human rights are fundamental to all aspects of EU membership. Ireland is fully supportive of the EU's engagement with Türkiye on this. The EU regularly highlights the human rights situation in Türkiye through public statements, Council conclusions, the European Commission's annual reports, and in bilateral engagements with Türkiye. As an EU member state, Ireland will continue to support this proactive approach.

The Irish Embassy in Ankara engages regularly on the wider Kurdish issue and the Kurdish people’s ongoing pursuit of greater autonomy. It is clear that this can only be addressed through dialogue aimed at establishing a peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable solution. Ireland has called for the resumption of such a dialogue in order to allow the political process to resume. Recent remarks by Turkish President Erdoan on the need for improved political co-operation to reach consensual compromises to national problems are encouraging. Ireland will continue to support efforts to maintain contacts between Kurdish community representatives and the Turkish authorities through our funding of the Democratic Progress Institute’s Türkiye programme.As a candidate country for EU membership and a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, it is important for the Turkish authorities to follow up on the recommendations of the European Commission and the Council of Europe, as well as the rulings in respect of the European Court of Human Rights.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I acknowledge the many good responses in it. I also wish to acknowledge the work of our team at the Council of Europe and at PACE in particular.

There is a fair degree of frustration among my colleagues from the Kurdish community regarding the recent decision of the committee of ministers to postpone any action on the 2014 court decision which condemned Türkiye for abolishing the right to hope for Mr. Öcalan, especially after it was decided to put it off another 12 months before doing anything about it. I urge our representatives in PACE, and in particular our permanent staff at the Council of Europe, to raise this as a matter of urgency.

The Minister of State will agree that isolation, particularly the type of isolation being perpetrated against Mr. Öcalan, is a crime against humanity. I think he will also agree that peace cannot be achieved through oppression, but only through recognising Kurdish rights and establishing meaningful dialogue. I urge the Government to up the ante a little more with regard to Mr. Öcalan and to put pressure on the Turkish authorities to do more.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gavan again for raising this important issue of Mr. Öcalan. The international community needs to continue to pay attention and to address long-running cases such as this one. I reiterate that Ireland will continue to consistently emphasise the need for full implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, including the case of Mr. Öcalan, in high-level engagement with the Turkish authorities and the Council of Europe stakeholders.

In addition, alongside our European counterparts, we will continue to monitor all aspects of the EU-Türkiye relationship, with a particular focus on human rights. I expect the case of Mr. Öcalan will be once again addressed by the European Commission annual enlargement report on Türkiye, which is due to be published at the end of this month. This House can rest assured that we will continue to voice our concerns bilaterally and multilaterally, wherever possible, on this case.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for staying with us for three Commencement matters. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, is on his way in for the final matter.