The Vigil for the freedom of Abdullah Öcalan began on 25 June 2012 and since then has been carried out in front of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the European Parliament.

The vigil in its 322nd week has been taken over by a 5-person group from Heilronn city of Germany. The activists condemned the isolation imposed on Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, and the silence of the European Union institutions, Committee for the Prevention of Torture in the first place.

The vigil had been taken over by a group from the German city of Stuttgart last week. Speaking to ANF, the activists stressed that their action will continue until they hear from Öcalan.

The Freedom for Öcalan Vigil had started on June 25, 2012 to call for an end to the aggravated isolation imposed upon Öcalan and to raise awareness for his freedom. Before the vigil, a Long March was held from Geneva to Strasbourg in February 2012 and a hunger strike of 52 days was held during the months of March and April. Representatives from various institutions in Europe and politicians had participated in the hunger strike.

The Freedom for Öcalan Vigil was launched after these demonstrations, and in the six years since, hundreds of thousands of flyers, brochures and booklets have been handed out and Öcalan’s ideas have been communicated to people from dozens of countries throughout the world.

Some two thousand activists have taken over the vigil in 314 groups. Artists, politicians, journalists and European allies have taken part in person.