The Freedom for Öcalan Vigil was launched on 25 June 2012 in front of the European Council in Strasbourg. The action is organised in Orangerie-Robertsau borough, where also the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Parliament are located.

Last week a group of Kurdish activists from Berlin had taken the vigil and handed it over this week (426th week) to Deniz Aydın, Sehlettin Ege and Mediye Xelil from Oldenburg.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Deniz Aydın underlined that their action will continue until Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan is liberated.

Aydın said that the CPT should fulfil its responsibility as the institution responsible for pursuing rights violations in prisons and added: "The CPT and the European Council have responsibilities and Kurds expect them to fulfil these responsibilities."

Emphasizing that the Kurdish people should be united against all kinds of attacks, Deniz Aydın said: "There is only one question asked by people of different nationalities who visit the action:" Why do Kurds not unite?"

Stating that they were asked especially about Öcalan's ideas and brochures about him, Aydın emphasized the importance of putting Öcalan's ideas into practice.

Activists from Oldenburg will distribute brochures and pamphlets describing Öcalan's ideas and women's struggle throughout the week. People from different countries of the world show great interest in the action, which lasts from morning to evening.