Turkey Moves Kurdish Militant Leader Ocalan To New Prison Facility Amid Peace Push

Turkey has moved Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), to a newly built facility within the Imrali island prison as efforts continue to end the decades-long conflict between the militant group and Turkish authorities. A senior Kurdish official confirmed the development on Saturday, October 31.

Mithat Sancar, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), announced the relocation during an interview with Medya Haber TV. He said Ocalan had moved to the new facility and argued that the development should accelerate the ongoing peace process, which has reportedly remained stalled for the past two months.

Sancar, however, did not provide details about the new facility, its accommodation or the conditions under which Ocalan would be held. The relocation is significant because improving Ocalan's prison conditions has been a longstanding demand of Kurdish representatives involved in negotiations.

Ocalan has been imprisoned on Imrali Island in the Marmara Sea since his capture in 1999. He co-founded the PKK in the 1970s, and his influence among Kurds has made him a central figure in efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict.

Interestingly, Sancar had dismissed reports of Ocalan's relocation in August. At the time, he said meetings with the imprisoned leader were taking place in a different hall but that his accommodation had not changed. His latest confirmation indicates that the transfer has since taken place.

The latest development comes amid renewed efforts to resolve the 42-year conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984. In February 2025, Ocalan called on the PKK to disband and surrender its weapons. Three months later, the group announced that it would lay down its arms and end hostilities.

In August 2026, the Turkish parliament approved legislation offering conditional pardons to thousands of PKK fighters, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan subsequently signed into law.

However, Sancar said the peace process had made little progress over the past two months, with previously agreed timelines not being implemented. He called for a delegation to visit Ocalan and stressed that he must play a coordinating role in the negotiations.

He also urged the Turkish government to move away from what he described as an inflexible approach, warning that the process could not advance through unilateral expectations and demands.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.