Developments in İmralı

We cannot, however, ignore Turkey’s international commitments due to agreements signed while we discuss the issue or decide over it. In this connection, it is beneficial to be reminded of the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, and the reports published by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, or CPT.

The Carlos example
There are several ECHR decisions on whether or not long-term solitary confinement and its consequences create any "ill treatment." In the Öcalan decision of May 12, 2005, the Court ruled that Turkish posts can take extraordinary security measures for Öcalan’s imprisonment.

Besides, it was also envisaged that as he is visited by his lawyers and family members once a week, Öcalan cannot be exposed to isolation and solitary confinement. In the end, the court overruled the complaint by stating that general conditions were not at the minimum to talk about inhumane treatment.

The ECHR interestingly included confinement period in its decision.

The Venezuelan terrorist Ramirez Sanchez (Carlos) vs. France case has similarities with the Öcalan case. Carlos is being kept in solitary confinement for eight years. And in this case too, in a decision of July 4, 2006, the ECHR decided that the solitary confinement of Carlos is not an inhumane or degrading treatment and the Article 3 of the Convention had not been violated.

The differences
The differences between the Öcalan and Carlos cases are:

a) The physical conditions of Öcalan’s cell are better.

b) Carlos has a television in his cell, Öcalan has a radio.

c) Carlos has relatively freer contacts with the outside world, compared to Öcalan. Carlos held a total of 640 meetings with his lawyers in four years, which makes about 130 meetings a month. Carlos even got married to his lawyer in the end according to Islamic rules. There is no restriction applied to Carlos’ family. Öcalan on the other hand is allowed to meet with his lawyers and members of his family once a week. But these meetings are delayed at times, especially due to bad weather conditions.

There have been two developments following the Court’s Öcalan decision in 2005. One of them is the report released by the CPT after a visit to the İmrali Prison in May 2007. In this report, the Committee states that Öcalan’s spiritual health is worsening due to chronic stress related to social and emotional isolation. The CPT recommends Turkish officials to create an environment for Öcalan to have contact with other convicts.

The second development is the case about Öcalan’s isolation pending in court. No verdict has been reached yet. No one knows what the ruling could be in this case which is expected to end in 2009. The question we should ask at this point is:

Will the isolation complaint which was rejected by the Court in 2005, six years after Öcalan was imprisoned, be regarded as ill-treatment as three more years have passed since then? The ECHR will, undoubtedly, take the CPT report into consideration when seeking an answer to this question.

The government’s placing of other convicts at İmralı and ending Öcalan’s social isolation will have a positive impact on the ECHR, but will not eliminate the case.

The case will continue with a limited period of isolation being the subject, with one difference though: If the ECHR rules for the violation of Article 3 of the Convention due to Öcalan’s isolation, when the ministers committee responsible for the implementation of the decision receives the verdict, the case will be closed for that the committee will decide in the direction that the isolation is already ended so the verdict is already fulfilled. Otherwise the Court will ask and pressure Turkey to end isolation by taking necessary measures. As possible changes at İmralı are being discussed, keeping all these in mind is useful.

Rıza Türmen is a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, and a columnist for the daily Milliyet in which this piece appeared yesterday. It was translated into English by the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review's staff