USA Turkish Times - Claims Öcalan poisoned proven groundless

Claims Öcalan poisoned proven groundless

Authorities said yesterday that tests on the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) revealed no indication that he was being poisoned, contrary to accusations made by his lawyers. “It has been determined that the allegations of poisoning were definitely baseless,” Ahmet Er, a prosecutor in the western city of Bursa read from a forensic report.

“Three doctors who have degrees and expertise in their fields took samples and examinations by these scientists showed that the allegations were false,” Justice Minister Cemil Çiçek told a news conference yesterday after a weekly Cabinet meeting. “From now on, nobody should pursue such lies. No one should take such games seriously. Turkey is a state of law and Turkey has nothing to hide.” Çiçek reiterated that the poisoning accusations were politically motivated and aimed at keeping international attention alive after Öcalan’s recent unsuccessful bid for a re-trial.

Last month Öcalan’s lawyers said they had evidence showing he had been exposed to toxins that could endanger his life. The government has strongly denied the claims as “complete lies,” but also ordered testing of samples from Öcalan’s hair, skin and urine.

In a statement yesterday afternoon, Öcalan’s lawyers said they would object to the decision after the forensic report is officially released to them, reiterating that independent analysis of Öcalan’s samples was necessary.

It remains unclear how Öcalan’s lawyers acquired their samples or what prompted the analysis, though complaints have been frequent over Öcalan’s conditions in confinement on the prison island of İmralı in the Marmara Sea.

Assessing the claims of poisoning, the European Committee for Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment (CPT) decided at a meeting last week not to send a team to investigate the prison where Öcalan is being kept, the Anatolia news agency reported. The CPT has the power to inspect prisons in Council of Europe member countries without prior notification of the authorities in the country in question.

The poisoning allegations also raised political tensions, with Aysel Tuğluk, a senior figure within the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), issuing a controversial warning that there would be “unimaginably heavy consequences” if Öcalan really was really being poisoned.

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