IMRALI, — The Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan has asked in a letter for permission to testify in the case against his 36 jailed lawyers. The group of lawyers defending their jailed colleagues has petitioned the court asking for the same thing.
About 60 lawyers were taken into custody and 36 were jailed on 22 November 2011 within the context of the so called KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) operation. The lawyers were accused of conveying information about their meetings with Ocalan to the PKK.
“First of all I need to testify if there is a claim that my lawyers worked for the organization. Our meetings were totally legal as well as permitted and constantly monitored by Turkish authorities. It is a legal catastrophe and a political conspiracy to relate these meetings with the actions by an organization,” wrote Ocalan in a letter to Asrin Law Office.
Eight lawyers emphasized in their petition the importance of Ocalan’s testimony both for the establishing of the truth and a just trial. It has been reported that the petition which was sent two weeks ago has not been replied to by the prosecutor’s office yet.
On the other hand, Ocalan’s lawyers’ application at the Bursa Public Prosecutor’s Office for a weekly visit to Imrali Island was rejected once more on Tuesday because of a ‘ship failure.’ The lawyers will apply again today for a possible meeting on Friday.