Abdullah Öcalan sends Newroz and Eid al-Fitr message after rare Imrali Prison visit by family

TURKEY – On Monday evening, family members of imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK) Abdullah Öcalan — Mehmet Öcalan, his brother, and Ömer Öcalan, his nephew and Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM Party) MP — visited Imrali Maximum Security Prison. The visit took place on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.

Following the meeting, Ömer Öcalan shared a message from Abdullah Öcalan on his personal account on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating:

“At a time of significant developments in Turkey, the Middle East, and the world, I am sharing Mr. Abdullah Öcalan’s message with the public.”

He then relayed Öcalan’s message:

“I salute our people’s enthusiastic embrace of the call for peace and a democratic society during Newroz. Once again, I extend my wishes for a blessed Newroz and Ramadan Bayram.”

The visit lasted one hour, marking the first in-person meeting between Mehmet Öcalan and Abdullah Öcalan since a brief four-minute phone call on 25 March 2021, which was facilitated by the prosecutor’s office in Urfa (Urhoy).