Four members of the Democratic Alevi Federation (FEDA) have taken over the Freedom for Öcalan Vigil in front of the Council of Europe building in Strasbourg, France, that began on June 25, 2012 and continues in its 241st week.

A statement on behalf of the FEDA group said they have taken over the vigil with the purpose of "standing by the oppressed", a norm in the philosophy of Alevism.

The statement also gave a message of "joint struggle against atrocity" to Alevis and all the other oppressed communities, and stressed that FEDA will continue their actions to this end.

The Freedom for Öcalan Vigil is held in Robertsau district, which is home to the Council of Europe, as well as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the European Parliament (EP), Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and other such institutions. The vigil continues through all 7 days of the week and is the longest-running demonstration held by Kurds without a single day break in between.

The Vigil began on June 25, 2012, and has continued without a pause since then. In every week of the vigil, Öcalan’s thoughts on the struggles of women, Kurds and humanity are promoted. Protestors have reached out to millions of people so far during the vigil that also attracts the attention of tourists visiting Strasbourg.

In the meantime, a group from the Ciwanên Azad-Strasbourg visited participants of the vigil yesterday afternoon. Youths called attention to the importance of Öcalan's freedom and expressed solidarity with the participants of the vigil.