Turkey moves Kurdish leader to new island cell block
Abdullah Ocalan was shifted to a newly built section of his prison as part of the peace process.
By Khalid Khalil ·
Turkey transferred Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to a newly constructed section of his island prison. The move aims to ease decades of conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish forces.
Ocalan has been held on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since his capture in 1999. Improving his living conditions has been a central demand of Kurdish groups during the current peace process.
Mithat Sancar, a member of the Democratic Progress Party (DEM), confirmed the transfer in an interview with Medya Haber TV on Saturday. He did not provide specific details about the new facility but suggested the conditions are better than those in Ocalan's previous cell block.
Sancar stated that the transfer makes it necessary to accelerate the peace process. He argued that the process has been on pause for the last two months. He told the news channel, "The process cannot move forward with unilateral expectations and demands."
The PKK announced in May 2025 that it would disarm and end hostilities, three months after Ocalan urged the group to dissolve. In August, the Turkish parliament approved a bill granting a conditional amnesty to thousands of PKK fighters. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan subsequently signed the legislation into law.
The conflict between the PKK and Turkey has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. The group was designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union in 1984. Sancar emphasized that Ocalan, who co-founded the PKK in the 1970s, must coordinate the peace negotiations. He added that the Turkish government needs to move away from its persistent and rigid stance.
