A delegation from the Council of Europe, a human rights body, visited the Turkish high-security prison where jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is held to examine the conditions of his detention.

The Council of Europe said in a statement on Monday members of its anti-torture committee had interviewed Ocalan and other inmates at the prison on the island of Imrali during a Jan. 26-27 visit.

"Particular attention was paid to communal activities offered to the prisoners and the application in practice of the prisoners' right to receive visits from relatives and lawyers," the council said.

In its statement, the council did not present any conclusions from the visit. Reports of the anti-torture committee are only published after they have been shown to the government concerned, and usually with its agreement.

Turkey jailed Ocalan for the deaths of 40,000 people in its conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which he leads.

Ocalan is serving life in jail after his death sentence was commuted in 2002, and who was long the only inmate in the prison.

In November, the European Union candidate Turkey transferred five inmates there after the EU demanded that it end Ocalan's solitary confinement.


Reuters