The rumors about Abdullah Öcalan's death on the Turkish prison island of Imrali have mobilized the Kurds and their friends worldwide. The Kurdish European umbrella organization KCDK-E had launched an urgent appeal and called for urgent action. In Germany, too, many people were therefore on the streets on Monday.

Nuremberg

At a spontaneous demo in Nuremberg, activists demanded the immediate clarification of these reports in the social media and access of the legal counsel of the Kurdish leader to their client. Also, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) must immediately fulfill its responsibility and clarify these rumors, the activists said. One speaker stressed that Öcalan's voice is needed more than ever for peace and an end to dictatorship in Turkey. "Rêber Apo" - as Öcalan is called by Kurds - is the "red line" for the freedom movement, he said and warned that the Turkish state would be held responsible should anything happen to him in solitary confinement. The demonstration ended with loud shouts of "Bijî Serok Apo".

 

Berlin

In Berlin, there was also an action in which Kurdish and internationalist activists took part - despite provocations from the Turkish nationalist camp. The protest took place in front of the Turkish Embassy, where a statement of the Revolutionary Youth Movement (TCŞ) was read out. The statement made clear that the news about Öcalan's alleged death was worrying and that the TCŞ protest would continue in Berlin until there was clarity about the situation on Imrali and contact was made with Abdullah Öcalan and his fellow prisoners Veysi Aktaş, Ömer Hayri Konar and Hamili Yıldırım.

 

Hamburg

Against the background of the rumors in Turkey, politician Cansu Özdemir, co-chairwoman of the left-wing parliamentary group in Hamburg's parliament, called on the government in Ankara to lift Öcalan's contact ban and allow his family and lawyers to visit him in Imrali. "A visit should be allowed so that we have a sign of life from him," Özdemir said.

 

Herford

The news of Öcalan's death also caused great concern in Herford where people gathered in front of the main train station for a rally. The first topic was the tightened total isolation on Imrali. While the last lawyer meeting on the island restricted to Öcalan took place on August 7, 2019, Imrali prisoners were able to talk to their relatives on the phone on April 27, 2020 - the first and last time so far. Subsequently, a statement from KCDK-E was read out demanding immediate lawyer contact to the island.

 

Cologne

Relatives of martyrs and Kurdish artists took part in a spontaneous protest in Cologne. In a speech, musician Ozan Seyîdxan referred to Abdullah Öcalan as the "political representative of the peoples of Kurdistan." The PKK founder has been subjected to intensified isolation for years, which has reached a new level since 2019, Seyîdxan continued. By doing so, he said, the Turkish state wants to make Öcalan forgotten. "They want us to get used to the fact that he is isolated and that we end our resistance. But that will not be possible. Because Abdullah Öcalan is the red line of the Kurdish people and all the peoples of the Middle East."

 

Giessen

A rally was also held in downtown Giessen. A Kurdish activist accused the CPT of moral poverty and lack of seriousness. The CPT is the only institution that has the power to visit Abdullah Öcalan on Imrali. In January, the committee inspected various prisons and detention centers in Turkey, but completely spared the prison island of Imrali.

 

Duisburg

Criticism of the CPT was also voiced in Duisburg. At the rally there were speeches by Niyazi Öztaş, the co-chair of the Kurdish Democratic Society Center DKTM, by Amara Çîya on behalf of the Şehîd Asya Yüksel Women's Council and Avesta Vejîn from TekoJIN.

 

Bremen

In Bremen also, the Kurdish community mobilized for a protest out of concern for Abdullah Öcalan. "Only the lawyers of the Imrali prisoners and their families can convince us of their state of health," they said and stressed that denials by officials regarding the rumor that the PKK founder was dead were not credible. “Only people close to Öcalan and his fellow prisoners can verify the rumors. We Kurds will take to the streets all over the world to build pressure for the Turkish government to give us information."

 

Stuttgart

A rally organized jointly by the TCŞ and the Young Militant Women's Movement (TekoJIN) took place in Stuttgart. About 200 people participated in the gathering at the central Schlossplatz. One activist stated that the aim was to end "the total isolation of Öcalan." Other actions took place in Dortmund, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Oldenburg, Saarbrucken, Freiburg and Kiel, among others.