ANKARA - Nurdan Kılıç, a member of the Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD), emphasized that democratic and structural transformation can only take place on a legal foundation and stated that a commission involving all political components should be established before the Parliament closes.
Following the February 27 call by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK convened a congress and ended its armed struggle. However, no concrete steps have yet been taken by the government or state.
The 10th Judicial Package, enacted on June 4, failed to meet expectations especially regarding sick prisoners and aggravated life sentences. Nurdan Kılıç criticized the exclusion of the “right to hope” in the package, stating, “Political prisoners have again been left out of the judicial package. This shows that exceptional law practices continue.”
Nurdan Kılıç stated, “Keeping a person imprisoned for life is a form of torture… Although the state has the authority to punish, sentencing someone to indefinite imprisonment and depriving them of hope for life is not within the state's rights. However, political prisoners in Turkey are not granted this right.”
Highlighting the release of ill prisoners as a crucial step for peace, Kılıç said, “Excluding the right to hope in the 10th Judicial Package indicates the continuation of exceptional law application. Furthermore, the newly added condition of ‘serious and concrete danger to public safety’ for sick prisoners leads to arbitrary practices concerning political prisoners.”
Referring to global experiences, Nurdan Kılıç added, “Democratic transformation can only be realized through legal guarantees. The necessary legal framework must be created for the peace process to spread across all society. Unfortunately, the 10th Judicial Package did not meet this expectation.”
She also noted that new penal implementations deepen the isolation of political prisoners: “Decisions by the Administrative and Monitoring Board delay releases and create significant barriers to improving the penal regime.”
In conclusion, she stated, “The new peace process is very meaningful both regionally and globally. Its importance and seriousness must be recognized, a commission should be established in Parliament, all political representatives should be included, and the process should be conducted transparently. Parliament's closure should be extended, and the commission must be urgently established.”