Dozens of international personalities sent a letter to the Chair and members of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to take a proactive stance, calling for action so that Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan is allowed to meet with his lawyers and family and ultimately freed under conditions that allow him to play a role in finding a just and democratic political solution to Turkey’s decades-old Kurdish conflict.

“It is now up to the Committee of Ministers to take concrete legal, diplomatic and political steps towards the release of Mr. Öcalan for a peaceful political solution of the Kurdish question,” says the letter addressed to Xavier Bettel, Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which reads as follows:

“February 15, 2025 will be the 26th anniversary of the abduction of the Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan. Since then, he has been held on the Turkish prison island of Imrali. Visits by his family and lawyers followed the political arbitrariness of Turkish governments. 

In 2014, the ECHR ruled that Mr. Öcalan’s aggravated life sentence, which excludes the possibility of parole, breached the European Convention on Human Rights. The court recommended that Turkey amend its laws to guarantee that prisoners are made aware of the potential for eventual release—known as the Right to Hope. 

At the meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers from 17-19 September, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers once again pressed Turkey to take immediate steps towards compliance with the ECHR 2014 rule. The committee warned it would consider drafting an interim resolution if no progress was made by 20 September. 

Since October 10, 2023, millions of people in Kurdistan and around the world have participated in the “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan - A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question” campaign to draw attention to Mr. Öcalan’s plight and draw the world’s attention to the path to peace. The political importance of Mr. Öcalan for the Turkish-Kurdish conflict cannot be overstated, and a resolution of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, which has now spilled beyond Turkey’s borders as the Turkish military attacks, invades, and occupies areas in northern Syria and northern Iraq, could also bring peace to the Middle East.

Along with 69 Nobel laureates, 1,500 lawyers worldwide, together people from various backgrounds: unions, social movements, political parties, elected officials, artists, intellectuals, activists, and millions of Kurds and their supporters have also appealed to the CoE and the President of the Republic of Turkey to end the solitary confinement of Mr. Öcalan and release him. Additionally, numerous international networks have founded to work for his release, and their efforts continue to this day. 

The fact that political delegations of the DEM party (The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party) are now selectively receiving permission to visit Mr. Öcalan in confinement due to pressure from the CoE and global political and civil society organizations may be a positive development. However, Mr. Öcalan is still a political prisoner held in violation of various laws and human rights conventions. The ongoing situation demonstrates how little the Turkish leadership and government believe in peace, with Nelson Mandela's statement that “only a free man can negotiate” ringing true. It is now time for the ministerial committee, in light of recent developments, to take a proactive stance towards a final resolution to this issue. Mr. Öcalan has expressed his willingness for a peaceful solution despite the unequal conditions. Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan must be allowed to meet with his lawyers and family and ultimately, be freed under conditions that allow him to play a role in finding a just and democratic political solution to Turkey’s decades-old Kurdish conflict.

It is now up to the Committee of Ministers to take concrete legal, diplomatic and political steps towards the release of Mr. Öcalan for a peaceful political solution of the Kurdish question.

With gratitude for your time and hope that you receive this as a heartfelt plea,

On behalf of the Network and the Nobel Initiative, Kariane Westrheim, Professor Emerita, University of Bergen, Norway, Member of The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights”

The letter is signed by the following members of the Network:

•  Abha Bhaiya, Founder of 1 billion Rising, India

•  Agilan Waradarajah, Eelam Tamil People’s Council, Germany

•  Alfonso Di Stefano, Solidarity with Kurds, Catania, Italy

•  Anna Bruna Camposampiero, Secretariat of PRC/EL, Italy

*Annick SAMOUELIAN, Coordinatrice / Collectif Solidarité Kurdistan 13 (CSK13)

•  Andre Metayer, Amitiés kurdes de Bretagne, France

•  Antonino De Cristofaro, Executive of COBAS School Trade Union, Italy

•  Arne Zupancic, Activist-ADM, Slovenia

•  Beatriu Cardona i Prats, Representative of the Trade Union in Valencia, Spain

•  Benny Olof Gustafsson, Member of Söderhamn Solidarity Committee with Kurdistan, Left Party, Sweden

•  Beth Hartmann, Member of the Solidarity with Kurdistan Initiative, Norway

•  Consuelo Núñez, Collective of Rojava Azadî Madrid, Spain

•  Daniel Loick, Associate Professor of Political and Social Philosophy, University of Amsterdam, Germany

•  Dersim Dagdeviren, EUTCC board member, KURD-AKAD, Germany

•  Detjon Begaj, Group leader for the Civica Bologna Coalition in the Bologna City Council, Italy

•  Debbie Bookchin, Journalist and Author, US

•  Domenico Mucignat, Ya Basta, Italy

•  Eduardo Lucas Camacho, Representative of the IAC Alternative Trade Union, Catalonia

•  Efstathiou Efstathios, Lawyer, Cyprus

•  Eleonora Bonaccorsi Chair of Fonti di Pace Association, Italy

•  Eleonora De Majo, Former Municipal Councilor of Naples, Italy

•  Elisabeth Decrey, Former President of the Parliament of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, Switzerland

•  Emily Marion Clancy, Vice Mayor of the Municipality of Bologna, Italy

•  Emmanuel Rozental, Member of the ‘Pueblos en Camino’ Organisation, Colombia

•  Erik Hagedorn, Activist and political scientist, Germany

•  Esterina Vitrano, Researcher at University in Sicilia, Italy

•  Eva Bappho Eivorsdotter Birath, Member of Söderhamn Solidarity Committee with Kurdistan, Left Party, Sweden

•  Federico Venturini, Academician, Freedom Committee for Ocalan, Italy

•  Fernando Coll Sol, Representative of the CSC Trade Union in Catalonia

•  Florencia Guarche, PhD CandidateStudent, France

•  Felipe Martinez, Sociology and writer, Colombia

•  Gerhard Keller, Wahrheitskämpfer e.V, Germany

•  Gian Luigi Deiana, Antonio Gramsci Association, Ghilarza, Italy

•  Gianfranco Fattorini, Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amitié entre les peuples (MRAP),
Switzerland

•  Gianluca Peciola, Left-green alliance consultant for the senate group, Italy

•  Giovanni Piazza, Lecturer at the Political Science Faculty of the University of Catania, Italy

•  Gisela Rhein, Activist für den Frieden, Germany

•  Isabel Martínez-Risco Valdivieso, Theater Actress, Galizia, Spain

•  Sylvie Jan, Chair of France-Kurdistan Association, France

•  Jean-Pierre Restellini, former member of the CPT

•  Jessica Merli, Secretary of FLC CGIL of Milan, Trade Union of Schools, Italy

•  Jesper Brandt, Professor Emeritus, Roskilde University, Denmark.

•  Jonna Sophie Kühl, Linksjugend, Germany

•  Jose Vicente Mertz, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, University of Lisbon, Portugal

•  Julia Iglesias Lopez, Plataforma Kurdistan, Basque Country

•  Julie Ward, Former MEP, UK

•  Jürgen Klute, Former MEP and president of the Kurdish Friendship Group of the European Parliament

•  Kaja Hilleren, International Leader of Socialist Youth, Norway

•  Kariane Westrheim, Chair of EUTCC, University of Bergen, Norway

•  Marc Clasca Ramirez, ARRAN Youth Organization in Catalonia

•  Maria M. Gomez Llanos, Plataforma Kurdistan, Basque Country

•  Martin Dolzer, Writer, Germany

•  Massimiliano De Conca, Secretary of FLC CGIL of Lombardia, Italy

•  Manuel Rozental, Colombia

•  Mechtild Exo, Senior Lecturer, Doctor of Political Sciences

•  Mirari Ulibarri Ugarriza, Representative of the ELA Trade Union, Basque Country

•  Nicola Salvatore Andrea Giua, COBAS School Trade Union Sardegna, Italy

•  Naomi Ferreira, Galizia Baran Platform, Spain

•  Nihad Al Kadi, Human Rights Activist, Netherlands

•  Ögmundur Jónasson, Former Minister of Justice, Iceland

•  Oliver Lundahl Bohn, Kurdistan Committee Representative in International Forum Copenhagen, Denmark

•  Orsola Casagrande, Journalist, Basque Country

•  Paolo Ferrero, former Minister of Social Affairs, Italy

•  Pascal Ange Torre, Co-chair of the Solidarity with Kurdistan Committee, France

•  Pedro Lobera Díaz, Representative of OSTA Trade Union, Aragon

•  Rebekka Timmer, former-chairwoman BIJ1 party and socialist activist, Netherlands

•  Renato Strumia, Secretary CUB Trade Basic Union, Italy

•  Renee Fernande Germaine Le Mignot, Co-chair of MRAP, France

•  Rezan Sarıca lawyer, Asrın Law Office, Turkey

•  Roberto Mapelli, Ass. Punto Rosso Italian editor of Ocalan's book, Italy

•  Rolf Goessner, Lawyer, publicist, parliamentary advisor, and civil rights activist, Germany 

•  Rosa Moussaoui, Editor of L'Humanite, France

•  Rosaria Piroddi, COBAS School Trade Union Sardegna, Italy

•  Rudolf Bürgel, Die Linke Baden-Württemberg, Germany

•  Sabine Skubsch, Die Linke Baden-Württemberg, Germany

•  Sarah Glynn, Architect, Academic, Activist, UK

•  Sinan Önal, political scientist, journalist, Germany

•  Simon Dubbins, Director of International and Research for UNITE the Union, UK

•  Stephania Herodotou, Activist, UK

•  Susanne Köhler, Wahrheitskämpfer e.V, Germany

•  Thomas Phillips, Liverpool John Moores University, UK

•  Thoreau Redcrow, Co-Director of The Kurdish Center for Studies, USA

•  Turid Kjernlie, Member of the Red Party, Norway

•  Tziazas Sokratis, Lawyer, Cyprus

•  Valentín Brugos Salas, Representative of the IC Confederation of Trade Unions in Asturias

•  Vicente Jose Rekondo, Representative LAB, Trade Union in Basque Country

•  Villo Sigurdsson, Former mayor of Copenhagen, Denmark.

•  Walter Baier, President of the Party of the European Left

•  Xosé L. Rivera Jácome, Representative of CIG - Galician Confederation of Trade Unions