Turkey shifts long-imprisoned Kurdish leader to new cell block

Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, is no longer in the same part of the island prison where he has spent most of the last 27 years. A senior Kurdish official confirmed on Saturday that Turkish authorities moved the militant leader to a newly constructed section of the facility on Imrali Island. The relocation is part of a wider effort to resolve a conflict that has persisted for 42 years.

Mithat Sancar, a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, verified the move during an interview with Medya Haber TV. He did not specify the exact improvements in the new area, though his comments suggested the accommodations are better. Sancar described the peace process as being on pause for the last two months and argued that Ocalan’s transfer requires the government to speed up negotiations.

Ocalan has been held on Imrali, an island in the Marmara Sea that connects the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, since his capture in 1999. Improving his conditions has been a central demand from Kurdish negotiators. Sancar noted that the PKK leader called for the group to disband and disarm in February 2025. Three months after that announcement, the PKK formally agreed to lay down its arms and end hostilities.

Following the PKK’s decision to stop fighting, the Turkish parliament passed a bill in August granting a conditional pardon to thousands of fighters. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the legislation into law. The conflict, which began in 1984, has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Turkey, the United States, and the European Union all designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.

Sancar and other DEM Party politicians have visited Ocalan regularly since the call to disarm was issued. He remains a key figure in the peace efforts. Sancar criticized the Turkish government for maintaining a rigid stance, stating that the process cannot proceed based on unilateral demands. He argued that the government needs to move away from its insistent position to make progress.

The move to the new facility has not been formally linked to specific architectural changes or amenities. Sancar’s confirmation came without further details on the physical layout of the new section. The relocation stands as the latest tactical shift in a diplomatic process that has faced periods of stagnation in recent months.