The ‘Long March’, which is organised every year to demand the physical freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan, started in Germany on Monday. The route of the Long March this year is between the cities of Bielefeld and Duisburg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The action is taking place as part of the global campaign "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question" launched in October last year. Kurdish and internationalist activists will be taking to the streets in Bielefeld, Hamm, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg, where the action will conclude on 20 September.

On the third day of the long march, the Kurdish and internationalist activists will cover a distance of about 20 kilometres from Dortmund.

The activists, who have been met with great interest from the residents during the past two days, chanted the slogan ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ (Long Live Leader Öcalan) in the streets of Dortmund.

On the third day of the long march, the police blockade intensified. The organising committee frequently called on the activists to be organised and sensitive against possible provocations.

The protesters demanded an end to the isolation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and his freedom and called on international organisations, especially the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, to take action as soon as possible.