A number of intellectuals, artists, politicians and academics announced their participation in the international campaign "Freedom for Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question".

The campaign, which was launched simultaneously in 74 countries on 10 October, unites social movements, political parties, municipalities, trade unions, activists, intellectuals and millions of Kurds and people in solidarity with the Kurdish liberation struggle worldwide around a common goal: the participation of Abdullah Öcalan in a dialogue for a just and democratic political solution to the Kurdistan question in Turkey, which has remained unresolved for more than a century.

The statement released by Arab intellectuals said the following:

“Abdullah Öcalan was captured in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and handed over to the Turkish state on 15 February 1999 as a result of an international conspiracy led by the U.S. and Israel. Imprisoned on the prison island of Imrali, he was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. The decision was made by a court in violation of law.

One of the main objectives of the international conspiracy was to target the Kurdish people through Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. It was directed against his demand for freedom, justice, equality and co-existence with the peoples of the region. Abdullah Öcalan, however, resisted the challenges and did not surrender to western countries. He maintained a free thought and stand and the Kurdish people continued their efforts to overcome those hard times. As a result of this resistance and struggle, Öcalan became an actor for the co-existence of all peoples in the region and the development of a strong internal defence force against external attacks.

Leader Abdullah Öcalan has been held in aggravated isolation for 25 years in violation of all his legal rights and no news has been received from him for the past three years. This is an unprecedented practice that has never been implemented against leaders arrested in the history of a popular revolution. He is not allowed to meet his family members or lawyers on Imrali.

Abdullah Öcalan is a thinker and a peaceful leader. If the Turkish authorities and those involved in the international conspiracy want to achieve peace among peoples, they should act not by uttering threats and imposing strict isolation but by opening the gates of Imrali. In our point of view, Abdullah Öcalan holds the key to a solution, peace and the future.

We are aware of the importance of Abdullah Öcalan's leadership and ideas that are based on the notion of a democratic nation and the pattern of free women and seek a solution to the problems in the region and the world, especially for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question. For this very reason, we understand his role and ideas as a thinker and leader for the achievement of a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question, stability and peace.

For these reasons, we, the signatories, declare our participation and solidarity with the international campaign that demands Mr. Abdullah Öcalan’s physical freedom and a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question. At the same time, we condemn all the unlawful and political cases of isolation and deprivation practised by Turkish officials. We also endeavor to expose these unlawful and immoral practices of preventing family and lawyer visits to Öcalan, and what the Kurdish people are going through. We act against the unfair and unacceptable international silence in the face of the war and massacres experienced by the Kurdish people whose territories and infrastructures are under attack.”

Signatories

Ali Ahmed Bedrakhan, Director of Photography, Egypt

Atef Magawry, Member of the Egyptian People's Assembly

Sharif Shahin, Egyptian diplomat, former Ambassador to Lebanon and Iraq

Dr. Muhammed Refaat El-İmam, Modern History Professor and former Dean of Faculty of Arts, Egypt

Dr. Taha Eli Ahmed, Author and Political Researcher, Egypt

İlhami El-Milêcî, Journalist and Author, Egypt

Raîda Huseyin Abdullah Al-Dhabhani, Peace Envoy, Yemen

El-Remalî, Journalist and Author, Egypt

Yûsêf Wahîb, Journalist and Author, Egypt

Dr. Semîr Fadêl, Lecturer, Egypt

Osman Baraka, Political Analyst, Libya

Sharif Abdulhamid, President of Gulf Iran/Egypt Research Centre

Abdo Magrîbî, Journalist and Author, Egypt

Şukrî Sîxanî, Reform Movement Chair and member of MSD Council Presidency

Dr. Elî Sebêt, Researcher and Academic, Egypt

Dr. Farnaz Atiya, Political Sciences Professor, Egypt

Sayed Mostafa, Journalist, Egypt

Mihemed Fethî El-Şerif, Arab Studies Research Centre, Egypt

Mohsen Awadallah, Journalist-Author, Egypt

Mihemed Hesen Amêr, Journalist and Political Analyst, Egypt

Dr. Mehmûd Zayêd, Lecturer, Egypt

Dr. Ehmed Receb, Lawyer and Chair of the Union of Arab Lawyers, Egypt

Fîras Yûnis, Politician and Author, Syria

Hanî El-Cimol, Local and International Relations Researcher, Egypt

Ramî Zohdî, Independent Politician, Egypt

Adil El-Fexaranî, Journalist, Egypt

Elaa Abdel Fattah Seyid, Publisher, Egypt