No special treatment for Öcalan

The Ministry of Justice has announced that the only amount of money spent for Abdullah Öcalan is the daily feeding fee – which amounts to a mere 2 YTL. Ahmet Taşkın, an investigating judge working for the ministry has published a book entitled 'Prisons and Facts', which hits back at distorted representations of prisons in the media.The book, for which Minister of Justice Cemil Çiçek has written an introduction, responds to claims that Abdullah Öcalan is accustom to 'good living' on İmralı island, where he is held under solitary confinement. Taşkın believes that Öcalan’s being the 'only prisoner in İmralı' has fueled allegations that he is treated better than an ordinary prisoner. “Öcalan just like any other prisoner resides in a room of his own, has the right to open air twice a day, has access to newspapers, books and FM radio. These are all rights granted by international agreements. Any other prisoner in any other prison enjoys exactly the same rights – no more, no less.” Taşkın has also denied reports that Öcalan had a private doctor: “The prison doctor is the only doctor on the island and is responsible for all staff as well as Öcalan. Öcalan has not asked for a specialist so far.” Abdullah Öcalan was captured in Kenya in 1999. Though initially sentenced to death, his sentence was commuted into a life-long aggravated imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished in Turkey in 2002.�