Abdullah Öcalan has been moved to another part of the prison complex on İmralı island. Mithat Sancar, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and a member of its visiting delegation, announced the change. The relocation does not mean the imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party founder has been released.
Sancar linked the move to a need to accelerate the peace process. He said progress had stalled for roughly two months and argued that Öcalan should be able to coordinate subsequent steps. That is the position of a participant in the contacts, rather than a newly announced agreement with the Turkish government.
On 1 November, fellow delegation member Pervin Buldan clarified that the new location forms part of the prison, rather than a facility outside it. She said relocation alone did not change Öcalan’s status and called for a clearer political role. A detailed independent assessment of conditions in the new accommodation has not been presented.
Öcalan has been imprisoned since 1999. In February 2025 he called for the PKK to disband and disarm; three months later the organisation announced that it would end its armed campaign. That reversal opened a negotiating opportunity after decades of conflict, without automatically resolving implementation or the legal position of those involved.
The immediate question is whether the change on İmralı will be followed by concrete political and administrative measures. For now, the confirmed development is a move within the complex accompanied by renewed pressure to accelerate the process, rather than release or a final peace treaty.
