The Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Vigil has been taken over by a group of Kurdish activists from Drancy on the 454th week of action. The group is made up of Kurdish activists, Vedat Çelik, Süleyman Küren and Bülent Amed.

Öcalan's imprisonment is a "Shame on humanity"

On behalf of the group, Vedat Çelik said: “President Öcalan was captured by the Turkish state through an international conspiracy. His imprisonment is a shame for all of humanity, especially for the Kurdish people.”

Çelik emphasized Öcalan's role for a peace process in the Middle East and pointed out the complicity of the European states with the Turkish regime. The activist also saluted the political prisoners who had been on hunger strikes in Turkish prisons since November 27 and called on the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture to take action. The CPT had previously criticized Öcalan's solitary confinement conditions in its report.

Çelik declared: "Without resistance it is not possible to be taken seriously" and called on the Kurdish people to rise up everywhere and take part in the fight.

Nine years of Vigil

The vigil in Strasbourg has been going on for almost nine years. Activists from all over Europe join the vigil in shifts, to protest isolation and inform about Öcalan's situation and his ideas and philosophy. The Vigil run every day from 8 am to 5 pm.