The Case of the Isolation Regime of Abdullah Öcalan

Diploma Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 1, University of Graz (Institut für Völkerrecht und Internationale Beziehungen), language: English, abstract: This thesis deals with the isolation regime of Abdullah Öcalan, who was arrested in 1999 and since then has been imprisoned as a sole inmate in the High Security Prison of Imrali for ten years. The aim is to investigate the detention conditions imposed on the detainee and to find out about the allegations of Human Rights violations in this case of isolation. The principle of the prohibition of torture, laid down in Art.3 ECHR, serves as the basis for this research and will be analyzed, thereby clarifying the scope of protection. On the momentous occasion of the sudden end of the isolation regime in November 2009, this thesis aims at imparting a comprehensive knowledge about the development of the isolation regime, the perception of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) regarding human rights conformity as well as the controversial judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and consequently the improvements that have been achieved by transferring five convicts to Imrali. The discussion of the monitoring procedure will give an insight view of the detention conditions, which will be assessed on the basis of the CPT reports and recommendations as well as the corresponding responses of Turkey. The detailed examination of the four visits that have been carried out by the CPT in 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2007 will show the different stages of the isolation regime. Since the Court holds a controversial view concerning Human Rights violations in the isolation regime, the relevance of the CPT standards will be investigated in comparison to the case law of the Court. The role of the Committee as a preventive organ in setting human rights standards and its influence on member states will be discussed as well as the dialogue between the CPT and Turkey.