A new group of activists took over the Freedom for Öcalan Vigil, which started in Strasbourg on 25 June 2012. Activists have been demanding freedom for Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan and the end of the isolation imposed on him.

This week’s group is from Düsseldorf.

Activists Ayvaz Ece, Bedran Aydeniz and Ayvaz Acar are in the group that will carry out the vigil this week in front of European institutions such as the CPT. The vigil is on its 465th week.

Making a statement on behalf of the group, Ayvaz Ece first paid tribute to the martyrs of May and added that “they will continue their struggle following the line of the martyrs and the guerrilla who are carrying out a historical resistance against the Turkish state's invasion attacks in South Kurdistan.”

Ece also saluted the “Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has demonstrated a great resistance against the torture system in Imrali for 23 years” as well as “the political prisoners on hunger strike against isolation.”

Ece added that the Kurdish people have been carrying out an important action in front of the European institutions for almost 10 years, and this action calls on European countries not to participate in the attack and annihilation carried out by the Turkish state against the Kurdish people and its leadership.”

The activist condemned the silence of Europe on the repression of the Kurdish people and pointed out that the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom will achieve victory with the freedom of their Leader. “The isolation imposed upon Leader Öcalan is a crime against humanity.”

Ayvaz Ece emphasized that European states, who stated that they are defenders of democracy and human rights, should give up double standards against Kurds.

Pointing to the statement made by the lawyers of the Asrın Law Office about a new disciplinary punishment given to Öcalan, Ayvaz Ece said: “No Kurd will accept disciplinary punishments to our leader” and called on the Kurdish people to increase the resistance in every field.