The Freedom for Öcalan Vigil launched by the Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Initiative on 25 June 2012 in Strasbourg, to demand freedom of the Kurdish People's Leader and an end to the isolation imposed on him, continues with a new group of activists.

The vigil is taking place in front of the CPT because the committee has a central function in controlling prison conditions on the island of Imrali and only performs this to a very limited extent. For three years now, there has been no sign of life from Öcalan, who has been imprisoned in Imrali since 1999.

In its 613th week, the vigil was taken over by Kurdish patriots İlhami Özagar, Gurbet Baran and Ömer Bozkaya from Germany.

Speaking on behalf of the group, İlhami Özagar said, "We have entered the process of the freedom of Leader Öcalan,", citing the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a political solution to the Kurdish question" campaign launched globally in October 2023.

Özagar said, "This is a campaign to liberate our leader and our people. The two are interconnected.”

Reacting to the silence of international institutions, especially the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), Özagar said, "It is the resistance of our people that will liberate Leader Öcalan" and called on everyone to fulfil their responsibilities. Özagar concluded, "Our people must take action for the freedom of Leader Öcalan. We must do whatever we can.”