The Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe _ a European human rights body _ had demanded that Turkey end Ocalan's solitude, saying his mental state was deteriorating after spending years as the sole inmate of Imrali island, off Istanbul.

The move also comes as Turkey is taking steps to increase minority Kurds' cultural and political rights in a bid to reconcile with the minority group and end a 25-year insurgency by Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Ocalan is serving a life sentence for leading the PKK's campaign for autonomy that has led to tens of thousands of deaths since 1984. The rebel leader was initially sentenced to death after his capture in Kenya in 1999, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison after Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2002.

The 60 year old is a reviled figure for most Turks but still enjoys a personality cult among sympathizers and is believed to send directives through lawyers from prison.

The five inmate _ all convicted for membership in the PKK _ were brought to the town of Mudanya early Tuesday and boarded a military vessel bound for Imrali under tight security, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Three other inmates were scheduled to be transferred to the island at a later date, the private Dogan news agency and other media reported.

An official reached at the Justice Ministry's department in charge of prisons said no one was available to comment on the report, and Ocalan's lawyer, Cengiz Cicek, said he had not been able to confirm reports of the transfers.

Authorities had been building a new facility on Imrali, in the Sea of Marmara, to accommodate the new inmates for months. Ocalan was expected to be alone in his cell but would be allowed to socialize with the other prisoners for up to 10 hours per week.

Last year, the Council of Europe's anti-torture panel also asked Turkey to ensure Ocalan is allowed either to buy or to rent a television set and to receive regular newspaper deliveries. It also called for Ocalan to be allowed to receive monthly visits of family members, instead of the current sporadic visits. It was not clear if these demands also were being met.

The PKK is branded a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.