New photo of jailed PKK leader stirs social media

ISTANBUL

The PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan (L) is seen with his beard whitened, sitting around a table with the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) lawmakers Pervin Buldan (R) and BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş (C) during one of the BDP delegation’s visits to İmralı Island. Photo posted on Twitter

A photo showing the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was posted Dec. 20 on Twitter and quickly spread via social networks.
 
In the photo, the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is seen with his beard whitened, sitting around a table with the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) lawmakers Pervin Buldan and BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş during one of the BDP delegation’s visits to İmralı Island on Aug. 17, where Öcalan is serving his life sentence.
 
Buldan has confirmed the authenticity of the photo, while noting that her party did not release the photo.
 
“The photo is real. This is our workplace at the [İmralı] Island. But it is not one of the photos taken by us. We did not spread it,” she said.
 
Öcalan’s current physical appearance has not been made public for some time due to the high security measures taken for his family and the BDP delegates’ visits to the Island.