Turkey moves Kurdish militant leader Ocalan to a new part of an island prison under peace push

Turkey has moved Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Kurdish militant leader, to a newly built section of Imrali Island’s prison in the Marmara Sea, a senior Kurdish official said. Ocalan has been incarcerated there since his capture in 1999 and leads the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The relocation is linked to Kurdish demands to improve prison conditions as part of efforts to end the 42-year conflict between the PKK and Turkish authorities. Mithat Sancar, a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, confirmed the move on Saturday but did not provide details on whether conditions are better. He said the peace process has been “on a pause” for two months and needs acceleration, stressing Ocalan must coordinate negotiations. The PKK later announced in 2025 that it would disarm, and Turkey’s parliament approved conditional pardons in August.