Captured in Nairobi and jailed in an island prison for nearly 30 years, who is Abdullah Ocalan? The Kurdish leader who continues to be central to Turkey’s peace talks

Abdullah Ocalan has spent more than two decades in jail, yet he still holds sway over the ongoing Turkish Kurdish problem. As the PKK co-founder, he is still one of the key players in trying to find a solution to this deadly conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Abdullah Ocalan has reportedly been relocated to a new building in the Imrali Island prison in the Marmara Sea, said Mithat Sancar, a senior member of the DEM Party of Turkey.

This news has brought Abdullah Ocalan’s living conditions in jail and the entire peace process between the government and Kurdish militant groups into focus.

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Sancar did not give details about the new site or state whether the new camp provides better living conditions. But Sancar stressed the fact that the new relocation will have to be followed by speedy negotiations, as peace talks have been halted for two months now.

The situation was preceded by Ocalan calling for disbandment and disarmament of the PKK in February 2025. The organisation then declared that it would put down its arms, providing an opportunity to reach a political solution to the conflict after many years of fighting.

Who is Abdullah Ocalan and why is he still an important player in Kurdish politics? How has an imprisoned militant leader become such an important mediator in solving the Kurdish problem in Turkey?

Abdullah Ocalan: From founding the PKK to becoming Turkey’s most prominent Kurdish prisoner

Abdullah Ocalan was born in 1949 in southeastern Turkey. He became one of the main figures in the Kurdish political movement during the 1970s. Abdullah Ocalan played an active role in founding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, according to the Kurdish initialism, in 1978.

At first, the organisation sought an independent Kurdish state with the support of those who thought that Kurds were discriminated against politically and had their national identity oppressed in Turkey.

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Later, the political goals and methods of the PKK changed; however, its armed struggle against the Turkish government remained its key historical activity.

It started in 1984 when the PKK started its armed struggle against the Turkish government. The conflict took place throughout southeastern Turkey and beyond through armed actions by the terrorist organisation and the Turkish military.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Over the course of the conflict, many thousands of people have died, comprising members of the security forces, PKK members, and civilians alike.

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Ocalan emerged as the face of the movement, having created an ideological and organisational legacy that outlived his active role within its military struggle. He is seen by his followers as one of the main representatives of Kurdish political demands, and at the same time, by the Turkish state as the head of a violent armed organisation.

This remains a point of contention in the discussion about his involvement in the negotiation process. For most Kurdish politicians, the participation of Ocalan in the talks is crucial to gaining the consent of the PKK.

Why Ocalan has been imprisoned on Imrali Island since 1999

Ocalan’s detention started when he was arrested by the Turkish government in 1999. He was then sentenced to death, but the sentence was changed to life imprisonment when capital punishment was abolished in Turkey.

He has been detained in a prison cell on the island of Imrali, situated in the Marmara Sea that separates the Black Sea from the Aegean Sea. The fact that he is isolated from the rest of the world has been a long-standing problem of his prison conditions for Kurdish politicians and sympathisers.

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Ocalan has been allowed very little contact, except that he was allowed to be visited by members of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party regarding the peace process. This provided him an avenue to send political messages to the PKK and the Kurds.

The fact that he was relocated to a new part of the prison is important since bettering his detention conditions has been a crucial condition that has been raised by the Kurdish representatives as one of the ways of resolving the standoff.

It is not known at the moment what kind of move this was. In an interview with Medya Haber TV, Mithat Sancar confirmed the move but failed to clarify which facility he moved to and also to explain if it was an improvement of his conditions or not.

According to Sancar, the move will help to start negotiations again. He also urged the Turkish authorities to think again about their uncompromising policy, claiming that it was impossible to conduct a peace process through unilateral demands.

This problem is not only about conditions for a single prisoner. The possibility of Ocalan communicating with the PKK and directing it depends on the implementation of the agreement.