Mithat Sancar: Abdullah Öcalan has moved to a new residence built for him on İmralı island

Mithat Sancar, a DEM Party MP for Şanlıurfa and a member of the İmralı delegation, said in an interview on 1 November that PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has moved into a new residence built for him on İmralı island.

Sancar linked the step to the “Terror-free Türkiye” and democratic society process. He stressed that Öcalan's agreement to move into the new residence shows that the process needs to be accelerated.

This is the first open confirmation from a member of the İmralı delegation that Öcalan has moved into the new residence. On 21 October, claims citing politicians closely following the process circulated in the Turkish press that Öcalan had moved into the house allocated to him, but no official statement was made at the time.

In August, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli said Öcalan had not yet agreed to move because he wanted a change in his status. At that time, Mithat Sancar denied reports of the move. On 27 September, Turkish Presidential Chief Adviser Mehmet Uçum said Öcalan could be given a role in a commission overseeing the process of laying down arms and dissolving the organisation.

Abdullah Öcalan has been held in the prison on İmralı island since 1999. In February 2025 he called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve itself, and in May of that year the PKK announced that it had decided to dissolve.