ANKARA - The CPT, which has said to the Kurdish people, "We will follow up" against Turkey's isolation and torture since the arrest of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan with an international conspiracy, fulfills its mission of being a follower, not a preventer, of the deepening isolation.

 

Due to the heavy isolation and “disciplinary measures” in İmralı, no news has been received from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan and other prisoners, nor has he been able to meet with lawyers and his family.European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment İmralı Although the statement that CPT visited Turkey is important, there are reactions to the fact that the report of this emergency visit is not shared, and that it is not even stated whether Abdullah Öcalan has been spoken to or not. Although it was not against the internal policy of the CPT that we reached within this scope, our question "Have you met or not?" was answered with an ambiguous answer and the uncertainty was maintained.

 

It seems that the CPT has clearly failed to fulfill its vision and mission when it comes to Turkey, and violates its principles. While isolation has been imposed on Abdullah Öcalan and 3 prisoners in İmralı for 23 years, the CPT's inability to go any further than "recommendations" and reports reveals this. Let's take a closer look at the CPT's founding reasons and principles and how it "prevents" torture.

 

Has the CPT fulfilled its purpose?

 

 The CPT was established under the Council of Europe's “European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”, which came into force in 1989. Established on the basis of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," the organization is tasked with evaluating how people deprived of their liberty are treated and visiting places where they are imprisoned. After these visits, which should not only include observations, torture practitioners should also make a recommendation and a warning assessment to improve conditions. Although it is clearly stated in the principles that this organization, which does not need permission from any nation state, has "unlimited access and the right to act", it has been seen with the visits to Imrali that it does not have the same unlimited scope for publishing its reports and does not act independently of the states within it. The CPT, which has the right to talk privately with those deprived of their liberty and to freely communicate with anyone who can provide information, has visited Imrali for years only in emergencies and with the calls of the Kurdish people, but the implementation of the recommendations given as a result of these visits was not followed up, and only a waste of paper was made.

 

Europe or human rights first?

 

 The CPT sends a detailed report to the relevant state after each visit to the prisons. This report includes the CPT's findings, recommendations, comments and requests for information. The CPT also requests a detailed response to the issues raised in its report. The CPT, which does not publish reports without the permission of the nation state, includes the following statement on its website: “The full name of the CPT is ‘European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”. This highlights two important features. The first is “European” and the second covers not only “torture” but also a range of situations that could mean “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. The fact that the first priority here is not "torture" but "Europe" is an issue that needs to be considered. Because, we witness that these institutions, which focus on protecting the interests of the nation-state, bend their attitudes and principles again in case the international balances change.

 

Changed CPT policy

 

 In its principles, it can be understood from the point reached that the priority of Europe as the first is not only a concept that defines the region. The wave of immigration caused by the war in Kurdistan and Syria and Turkey's constant threat to European countries to "open doors, I will send people" "scavenge" these countries, which are the secret parties of the war. NATO, shaken by the fear of the people they displaced and settling in on the one hand, and the threat of war by Russia on the other hand, makes concessions to Turkey in the background by glossing over Turkey's crimes against humanity with only "anxiety and concern". We witnessed that these concessions were also made during Sweden's application process to NATO. The fact that the extradition of Kurdish politician Mahmut Tat, who was detained by the Swedish government, resulted in her arrest, is an example of interests. The dreams of nation-states are not limited to the deep isolation on Imrali, but they cause a wave of war crimes that spread over all the peoples of the Middle East. From the supply of weapons used in the attacks against Bashur to the air operations in Rojava fighting against ISIS, the nation-states that have a deadly silence over them have blocked a single news from Imrali. It continues to ignore the call of the entire Kurdish people by not leaving the line of the nation-state that defines itself as basically independent.

 

Reports disclosed 'with permission'

 

 The CPT, the main interlocutor of the torture isolation, was fulfilling its responsibility to announce its visit reports to Imrali, albeit late. However, although CPT did not prepare any report on their last visit, CPT did not even share the information whether he had seen Abdullah Öcalan. Visits are conducted by delegations, usually made up of several CPT members, accompanied by Committee Secretariat staff and, if necessary, additional experts and interpreters. Regarding these visits, on the CPT's website, the phrase "Cooperation with national authorities is at the center of the CPT's work, because its purpose is not to convict states for abuses, but to protect persons deprived of their liberty", stating that they "protect prisoners" without intervening in human rights violating nation states. “ they states. Although the reports are not disclosed, the committee has the initiative to make a public statement for the states that do not listen to the recommendations made and do not make any improvements. After the CPT has been given the opportunity to express its views, the CPT has the authority to make a public statement on the subject with a two-thirds majority of its members.

 

 Reports on some countries

 

 There are also examples where the CPT announced the report on some countries that did not follow its recommendations in the past. Based on its bylaws, the CPT made a statement regarding Russia in 2001-2003, Greece in 2011, Bulgaria in 2015, Belgium in 2017, Russia in 2019 and Bulgaria in 2021 without the consent of the member states. In its statement on Bulgaria on 4 November 2021, the CPT stated that the long-standing recommendations on the situation of people placed in social care institutions and psychiatric institutions were not followed, and criticized the situation in some nursing homes, describing it as "terrible".

 

Visits that go beyond the call

 

 Although the CPT made some statements without the consent of the states, the conditions in Imrali have not improved despite the visits it has made for years. On the other hand, the situation that is seen to the contrary is the conditions of isolation that are getting heavier and deeper. The restriction of lawyer and family views, the constant "disciplinary measures" and the barring of phone calls are indications that the CPT has created conditions that require it to make a public statement. After its visits, the CPT prepared reports on Imrali, made many recommendations to end the isolation and made a call to Turkey to "take action". However, despite this, conditions have not been improved and have worsened.

 

International institutions are insufficient to prevent crimes.

 

 In 2019, the CPT delegation shared the report of its visit to İmralı with the public after a long time. Leading the delegation that made the visit in this report, Dr. Mykola Gnatovsky, in an interview on the Ukraine war on October 24, voiced his criticisms of the functioning of the existing international institutions. Dr. Mykola said that national and international courts do not have the means to fully examine the alleged crimes. Dr. Regarding the war, Mykola drew attention to the inadequacy of international institutions by saying, "…there is a gap that needs to be filled in the architecture of international institutions." While the inadequacy of institutions was repeatedly pointed out in the Ukraine and Russia war and efforts were made to improve and strengthen them, the institutions did not take any steps regarding the torture and isolation that has been going on in Imrali for years. His double standards against the peoples and the determination that he "reached out" to the peoples in line with the interests of the nation-states confirms the very clear words of the doctor who works in these institutions, revealing the role of international powers in breaking the isolation against Abdullah Öcalan.