Erdogan aide rejects speculation over ‘right of hope’ for PKK leader

The administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied reports suggesting the possible conditional release of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

In recent weeks, Turkish media outlets have speculated about potential legal adjustments under the government’s “Turkey Free of Terror” initiative, which aims to disarm armed groups and dismantle their clandestine structures.

Some reports suggested that, within a broader political framework, authorities might consider easing detention conditions for certain prisoners, including the possibility of house arrest under what is known as the “right of hope” — a legal principle applicable to some individuals convicted of crimes against the state.

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Mehmet Uçum, senior adviser to the president and deputy head of the Presidential Council for Legal Policy, rejected the speculation in a post on the X platform. He said discussion of the “right of hope” does not imply automatic or immediate release and is not specific to any individual, including Ocalan.

He explained that the legal provision applies generally to those sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment for certain offences, as well as to individuals whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment. He stressed that it constitutes a legal classification rather than a decision concerning a specific case.

Ocalan, arrested in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment on charges related to leading armed activity against the Turkish state, is currently held in a high-security prison on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey.

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