Editing Abdullah Öcalan (section)

=== Detention conditions ===
{{Main|Imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan}}
[[File:PKK Verbot.jpg|thumb|Protest for freedom of Öcalan in Germany, 21 January 2016]]
After his capture, Öcalan was held in solitary confinement as the only prisoner on İmralı island in the [[Sea of Marmara]]. Following the commutation of the death sentence to a life sentence in 2002,<ref>{{cite web |date=4 October 2002 |title=Kurd's Death Sentence Commuted to Life Term |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-oct-04-fg-briefs4.3-story.html |access-date=10 March 2020 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Öcalan remained imprisoned on İmralı, and was the sole inmate there. Although former prisoners at [[İmralı]] were transferred to other prisons, more than 1,000 Turkish military personnel were stationed on the island to guard him. In November 2009, Turkish authorities announced that they were ending his solitary confinement by transferring several other prisoners to İmralı.<ref>{{cite web |title=PKK leader Ocalan gets company in prison |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/11/17/PKK-leader-Ocalan-gets-company-in-prison/17541258484776/ |access-date=10 March 2020 |work=[[United Press International]] |language=en}}</ref> They said that Öcalan would be allowed to see them for ten hours a week. The new prison was built after the Council of Europe's [[Committee for the Prevention of Torture]] visited the island and objected to the conditions in which he was being held.<ref>{{cite news |last=Villelabeitia |first=Ibon |date=18 November 2009 |title=Company at last for Kurdish inmate alone for ten years |work=[[The Scotsman]] |url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Company-at-last-for-Kurdish.5833050.jp |url-status=dead |access-date=27 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813195513/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/world/Company-at-last-for-Kurdish.5833050.jp |archive-date=13 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Erduran |first=Esra |date=10 November 2009 |title=Turkey building new prison for PKK members |work=[[Southeast European Times]] |url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2009/11/10/feature-02 |url-status=live |access-date=27 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119150253/http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2009/11/10/feature-02 |archive-date=19 November 2009}}</ref> From 27 July 2011 until 2 May 2019 his lawyers have not been allowed to see Abdullah Öcalan.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://anfdeutsch.com/aktuelles/Oecalan-anwaelte-kontaktverbot-faktisch-in-kraft-11430|title=Öcalan-Anwälte: Kontaktverbot faktisch in Kraft|website=ANF News|language=de|access-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517074613/https://anfdeutsch.com/aktuelles/Oecalan-anwaelte-kontaktverbot-faktisch-in-kraft-11430|archive-date=17 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> From July 2011 until December 2017 his lawyers filed more than 700 appeals for visits, but all were rejected.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lawyers' appeal to visit Öcalan rejected for the 710th time |language=en |work=[[Firat News Agency]] |url=https://anfenglish.com/human-rights/lawyers-appeal-to-visit-Oecalan-rejected-for-the-710th-time-23510 |url-status=dead |access-date=17 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226184202/https://anfenglish.com/human-rights/lawyers-appeal-to-visit-Oecalan-rejected-for-the-710th-time-23510 |archive-date=26 December 2018}}</ref>

There have been held regular demonstrations by the Kurdish community to raise awareness of the isolation of Öcalan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/demonstrations-for-Oecalan-in-europe-28818|title=Demonstrations for Öcalan in Europe|website=ANF News|access-date=27 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226133949/https://anfenglish.com/news/demonstrations-for-Oecalan-in-europe-28818|archive-date=26 December 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In October 2012 several hundred Kurdish political prisoners went on hunger strike for better detention conditions for Öcalan and the right to use the Kurdish language in education and jurisprudence. The hunger strike lasted 68 days until Öcalan demanded its end.<ref>{{cite book |last1=White |first1=Paul |title=The PKK |date=2015 |publisher=Zed Books |location=London |isbn=978-1-78360-037-3 |page=88}}</ref> Öcalan was banned from receiving visits almost two years from 6 October 2014 until 11 September 2016, when his brother Mehmet Öcalan visited him for [[Eid al-Adha]].<ref>{{cite news |date=12 September 2016 |title=Inhaftierter PKK-Chef: Erstmals seit zwei Jahren Familienbesuch für Öcalan |work=[[Der Spiegel]] |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/abdullah-oecalan-inhaftierter-pkk-chef-darf-nach-zwei-jahren-besuch-empfangen-a-1111890.html |access-date=14 January 2019}}</ref> In 2014 the ECHR ruled in that there was a violation of article 3 in regards of him being to only prisoner on İmarli island until 17 November 2009, as well as the impossibility to appeal his verdict.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 March 2014|title=Terrorism and the European Convention on Human Rights|url=https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Terrorism_ENG.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701145655/http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/FS_Terrorism_ENG.pdf |archive-date=1 July 2013 |url-status=live|website=European Court of Human Rights}}</ref> On 6 September 2018 visits from lawyers were banned for six months due to former punishments he received in the years 2005–2009, the fact that the lawyers made their conversations with Ocalan public, and the impression that Öcalan was leading the PKK through communications with his lawyers.<ref name=":3" /> He was again banned from receiving visits until 12 January 2019 when his brother was permitted to visit him a second time. His brother said his health was good.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/5c5849bf-3f4b-48fb-8c79-0f61260c3a8c|title=PKK's Ocalan visited by family in Turkish prison, first time in years |website=Kurdistan24 |language=en |access-date=14 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830191129/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/5c5849bf-3f4b-48fb-8c79-0f61260c3a8c |archive-date=30 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The ban on the visitation of his lawyers was lifted in April 2019, and Öcalan saw his lawyers on 2 May 2019.<ref name=":3" />

On 27 February 2025, Öcalan issued a message from prison calling for the PKK to hold a congress dissolving itself and lay down its weapons.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 February 2025 |title=Imprisoned Kurdish leader urges his PKK militant group to disarm to make peace with Turkey |url=https://apnews.com/article/turkey-pkk-ocalan-peace-talks-68decd55c35fa537f04b117bc9736128 |access-date=27 February 2025 |work=Associated Press}}</ref> In response, the PKK announced that it had begun a ceasefire on 1 March.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 March 2025 |title=Kurdish group PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgkmg3kmmero |access-date=1 March 2025 |work=BBC}}</ref>