Turkey: Hunger strikes: Rights violations faced by prisoners on hunger strike and those protesting in solidarity

Thousands of prisoners in Turkey went on hunger strike from November 2018 demanding that the imprisoned leader of the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, can meet regularly with his lawyers and family members. The hunger strikes ended on 26 May after Abdullah Öcalan’s lawyers were able to visit him on 2 and 22 May after being denied access for almost eight years. Amnesty International does not express support for particular hunger strikes, nor does it try to persuade people to end them. However, Amnesty International monitors and reports on human rights violations faced by people on hunger strike.