Jailed PKK Chief Ocalan Granted Television in Cell

The jailed leader of Turkey's Kurdish rebels, Abdullah Ocalan, can watch television in prison for the first time since he was incarcerated 14 years ago, a Turkish official said Tuesday.

"There is no special broadcast, he has access to the same channels the other cells have," Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin told reporters.

Ergin said Ocalan had requested the TV, having previously been allowed to listen only to the radio in his cell on the prison island of Imrali near Istanbul.

Ocalan was kept in total isolation until some inmates were transferred to the island prison in 2011.

He could not consult with lawyers for more than a year, a measure media say was aimed at preventing him from communicating with his outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Ocalan has always been allowed visits by family members, however.

The TV privilege coincides with peace talks between Ocalan and Turkey's intelligence agency, which hopes eventually to disarm the PKK through Ocalan's help.

Turkish media reported last week that the weeks-long talks have produced a roadmap to end the three-decade old Kurdish insurgency in Turkey, which has claimed 45,000 lives, mostly Kurdish.

The reported roadmap has not been confirmed by either party.