STRASBOURG, Dec 7 (AFP)  Rebel Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan lives in model
 prison conditions in Turkey, but other inmates have been subjected to torture, a Council of
 Europe report approved by Ankara said on Thursday.

 According to the report by the council's committee against torture (CPT), Ocalan is kept in a
 cell measuring 13 square meters (140 square feet), which features natural lighting, air
 conditioning, a shower and basic furnishings which are all "of very high quality."

 Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was sentenced to death in June 1999 for
 treason and separatism under the terms of a Turkish law covering "terrorist" acts.

 The report, based on a visit by CPT members to Turkish prisons between February 23 and
 March 3, 1999, was published with the Turkish government's accord under rules of the
 Strasbourg-based council.

 It also noted several cases of torture and mistreatment of prisoners by anti-terrorist police units
 in Istanbul and Izmir, in western Turkey, which included electroshocks, beatings, and
 "Palestinian hangings," or suspension by the arms.

 In the most serious case, union leader Suleyman Yeter was tortured to death between March
 5-7, 1999 in Istanbul, just two days after the committee left the country.

 Three policemen suspected in the killing are being prosecuted, the Turkish government said.

 Ocalan's detention regime is markedly different, according to the report.

 Though prevented from having contact with other inmates, Ocalan has four doctors monitoring
 his health, a primary care physician, a cardiologist, a specialist in internal medicine, and a
 psychiatrist.

 He listens to Turkish radio and receives books, periodicals, and daily newspapers.

 Comments by the Turkish government which accompany the report stress that the PKK leader
 can read all the material provided during regular visits by his lawyers, his brother and two
 sisters.

 They also say that Ocalan is protected from the negative effects of isolation by personnel trained
 in human relations who "have daily conversations, at specific times, with the detainee."

 He also has access to an exercise yard which measures 45 square meters, while "dangerous
 criminals" in certain Finnish, German, and Norwegian jails are restricted to smaller spaces, the
 Turkish government noted.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com

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