Turkey moves Kurdish leader to new prison wing after 42-year conflict

Turkey transferred Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, to a newly constructed section of the island prison where he has been held since 1999. The move aims to improve his detention conditions, a central demand from Kurdish officials in the effort to end a 42-year conflict with the state.

Mithat Sancar, a senior Kurdish official, confirmed the transfer during a Saturday interview with Medya Haber TV. He stated that the relocation makes it necessary to accelerate the peace process, which he said has been on pause for the last two months. Sancar, a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, did not explicitly confirm that the new wing offers better housing conditions, though his remarks suggested as much.

Ocalan has been imprisoned on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara since his capture in 1999. He cofounded the PKK in the 1970s and remains an influential figure among Kurds. Since February 2025, when Ocalan called on the PKK to dissolve and disarm, groups of DEM politicians have visited him regularly. He is considered key to driving the peace process forward.

The PKK announced it would lay down its arms and end hostilities three months after Ocalan's call. In August, the Turkish parliament passed legislation offering a conditional pardon to thousands of PKK fighters, a measure President Recep Tayyip Erdogan subsequently signed into law. The conflict, in which the PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union since 1984, has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

Sancar argued that Ocalan must coordinate the peace negotiations. He criticized the Turkish government for relying on unilateral expectations and demands. "The process cannot advance with unilateral expectations and demands," Sancar said, adding that the government "needs to move away from its insistent and rigid stance."

The next step involves the resumed negotiations between the government and Kurdish representatives. Sancar urged for a faster pace in these talks following the physical relocation of the PKK's leader to the new prison facility.