Data on Öcalan’s life in jail revealed

ISTANBUL

Öcalan negotiated with Turkish intel in the yard of three unused rooms.

On the eve of the 14th anniversary of the arrest of the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, some data on the details of his life in jail was revealed by prison sources.

Öcalan, who was captured in Kenya on Feb. 15, 1999, and has been serving an aggravated life sentence in İmralı Prison since then, spends an average of 300 Turkish Liras per month. Also, it was revealed that he had read about 2,300 books and periodicals over the 14 years he has spent in prison, Doğan news agency reported yesterday. 

According to sources, the agency said, Öcalan takes care of his health, wakes up at 6:00 a.m. and goes to bed at 10:00 p.m. every day. Also, he often complains to his doctors about having difficulty breathing and being unable to sleep restfully. Furthermore, the onset of a prostate disease was diagnosed in him, while he also suffers from spring allergies.

Sources also said Öcalan had negotiated with the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) authorities who went to İmralı island as part of the latest attempts to end terrorism in the yard of three unused rooms in the prison in order to prevent the possible leakage of information, and they negotiated there for hours. 
Öcalan’s lawyer Rezan Sanca said they paid him 300 liras every month, which he uses for the newspapers he reads and catering needs in the prison’s cafeteria. Protests are expected in many provinces across Turkey to mark the capture Öcalan by his supporters.
 
Öcalan has stepped back from demanding compensation for an unpublished book that was seized by police before going to print.