The Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Vigil was launched on 25 June 2012 in Strasbourg, to demand freedom for Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and an end to the isolation imposed on him in Imrali.

The vigil continues in its 583rd week and has been taken over by three patriots from the Parisian suburb of Drancy, including Fazil Kobanê, Mustafa Girişkin and Mehmet Acar.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Fazil Kobanê noted that Öcalan has not been heard from for 29 months. Concerns over the situation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan increased after the Executive Council Member of the Kurdistan Democratic Communities Union (KCK), Sabri Ok said in an interview on the Kurdish TV Channel Sterk TV on July 8 that threatening letters had recently been sent to Abdullah Öcalan anonymously via the Imrali prison administration.

“We are on vigil here in front of the CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) which claims to have met with Öcalan but has yet to present a report on its visit to him,” said Fazil Kobanê and called on the Kurdish people to raise their voices.

“We take to the streets and demonstrate, chanting the slogan “No Life Without the Leader”, but this should not be just talk without action. The Kurdish society, youth and women in particular, should put the words into practice,” he said.