Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

Amberin Zaman

A protestor holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, Eastern France, on Feb. 14, 2026. — A protester holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, France, on Feb. 14, 2026. — SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images

Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is expected to take a more public and direct role in negotiations with the Turkish government after being moved from a cell to a 250-square-meter villa on the prison island where he’s been held since 1999.

Mithat Sancar, a lawmaker for the largest pro-Kurdish party, DEM, confirmed the long-awaited move on Saturday in an interview with the pro-PKK Medya Haber TV.

However, Sancar said, Ocalan’s relocation to the home-like setting was not enough, and urged Ankara to speed up the talks. “The process cannot proceed with unilateral expectations and demands,” he said.

Fellow DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan noted that the new premises are still within the island prison complex off the coast of Istanbul. “It would be more accurate to describe it simply as a space designed to improve his working conditions.”