Kurds from Rojava living in Saarbrücken, Germany took over the vigil held in Strasbourg, France with the motto 'Freedom for Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan.'

The demonstrators who took over the vigil from last week's participants from the Kurdish Women's Movement in Europe (TJK-E) stated that their goal was to represent the will of the Kurdish people. Remarking that Öcalan was under attack because he represented the will of the Kurdish people, the group stressed that the AKP fascism and attacks of Erdoğan would soon be defeated.

The vigil participants from Rojava also drew attention to the attacks on Shengal and emphasized that anyone that collaborated with the enemies of Kurdish people would lose. They said pinning hopes on Barzani meant pinning hopes on Erdoğan.

The protestors called on the Kurdish people not to forget about the Treaty of Lausanne, urging the Kurds in Europe and everywhere else to continue their struggle and say 'NO' in the upcoming referendum.

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.