3/10/22, 12:48 Oversight Board | Independent Judgment. Transparency. Legitimacy. 2. Case description The case concerns content related to Abdullah Öcalan, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK was founded in the 1970s with the aim of establishing an independent Kurdish state in South-Eastern Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. The group uses violence in seeking to achieve its aim. The PKK has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the EU, the UK, and Turkey, among others. Öcalan has been imprisoned on Imrali Island, Turkey, since his arrest and sentencing in 1999 for carrying out violent acts aimed at the secession of a part of Turkey’s territory ( Case of Ocalan v Turkey, European Court of Human Rights). On January 25, 2021, an Instagram user in the United States posted a picture of Öcalan, which included the words "y'all ready for this conversation" in English. Below the picture, the user wrote that it was time to talk about ending Öcalan's isolation in prison on Imrali Island. The user encouraged readers to engage in conversation about Öcalan’s imprisonment and the inhumane nature of solitary confinement, including through hunger strikes, protests, legal action, op-eds, reading groups, and memes. The content did not call for Öcalan's release, nor did it mention the PKK or endorse violence. The post was automatically flagged by Facebook and, after being assessed by a moderator, was removed on February 12 for breaching the policy on Dangerous Individuals and Organizations. The user appealed the decision to Facebook and was informed that the decision was final and could not be reviewed because of a temporary reduction in Facebook’s review capacity due to COVID-19. However, a second moderator still carried out a review of the content, also finding a breach of the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. The user received a notification explaining that the initial decision was upheld by a second review. The user then appealed to the Oversight Board. The Board selected the case for review and assigned it to a panel. As Facebook prepared its decision rationale for the Board, it found a piece of internal guidance on the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy that allows discussion or debate about the conditions of confinement for individuals designated as dangerous. This guidance was developed in 2017 partly in response to international concern about the conditions of Öcalan’s imprisonment. Facebook explained that in 2018 the guidance was “inadvertently not transferred” to a new review system. It was also not shared within Facebook’s policy team which sets the rules for https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/IG-I9DP23IB/ 6/21