Can Ocalan Exchange Prison Cell For House Arrest?

[Aslan]

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, cannot exchange his Turkish prison cell for house arrest without amendments to a 2006 law that has applied to several cases in the past, said a Kurdish politician and lawyer.

Ankara and the PKK are engaged in a historic peace process to end a three-decade conflict that has claimed 40,000 lives.

Since talks with Ankara at Ocalan’s prison cell on Turkey’s Imrali island early this year, the rebels have announced a ceasefire and a phased withdrawal starting May 8. They have also indicated that, although it is too early to talk about Ocalan, the group’s end goal is his transfer from prison as a condition for lasting peace.

The peace process has stirred talk that Ocalan could use a 2006 law, passed to allow former Turkish premier Necmettin Erbakan avoid jail in favor of house arrest after he was forced down, to leave prison.

Article 110 of the Turkish Penal Code allows convicts who are no less than 75 years old and sentenced for no less than three years in prison, to serve their sentences under house arrest.

Ocalan, 65, was sentenced to death after his 1999 capture, and under Turkish law must serve a life sentence.

Sedat Yurtas, lawyer and Kurdish politician, noted that Ocalan was not covered by that law, first because he is less than 75.

“An amendment is required to be made by looking into the seriousness of the crime and taking into consideration the age and the period served in prison by the convict,” Yurtas said.

Nazife Babayigit, the 77-year-old Kurdish mother sentenced to jail for sending clothes to her son who was a PKK rebel, also benefited from that law.

“The Babayigit and Ocalan cases are different. The political will must be very strong to take such action," said Yurtas.

“I believe that after the withdrawal of the guerrilla forces from Turkey there will be changes in the Turkish constitution and a more proper condition will be created to discuss transferring Ocalan to house arrest," Yurtas said.

COMMENTS:


3 6 Kurdo | 14 hours ago
Let him stay in there. I don't think he has done any good so far and I don't think he will do any good in the future. PKK has forgotten why they started this fight. Turks has not accepted any of their demands, not even one, yet they are ready to pull out their armed forces out of Kurdistan. Only for one reason, because Öcalan said it. This is really tragic, decades of war, thousands of death and millions of people thad had to leave their home, for what? We are still at square one.


3 2 Hans Roger Lars(Salên) | 13 hours ago
Kurdo .Don,t be chav .You have no idea what is going on.Turkish terror state promised and got this last chance to give kurds in N.Kurdistan the freedom.If not then it will be a total war ,it will spread to the big cities and the lava of kurdish anger will burn the turks to the hell.We live in 2013 not in 1923.KURDS ARE STRONGER THAN EVER.Bijì Kurd û Kûrdîstan , ya mirin yan neman.