Turkish Authorities Release Longtime Political Prisoner Veysi Aktaş

ANF

Veysi Aktaş.

Turkish authorities have released Veysi Aktaş, a political prisoner and a Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerilla, after more than 31 years in detention, including a decade held in the high-security İmralı Prison.

Aktaş, who was arrested in the 1990s, was freed on 25 July 2025, following a delay of one year and three months beyond the completion of his original 30-year sentence, which officially ended on 28 April 2024.

The Turkish Administration and Supervision Board initially postponed his release by one year, later extending the delay by an additional three months without providing any clear explanation for the decision.

İmralı Prison, one of Türkiye’s most secure detention facilities, is known for housing high-profile political prisoners, including PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been incarcerated there since 1999.



PUKMEDIA