For more than ten years, activists have been protesting day after day in the square in front of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg demanding freedom for Abdullah Öcalan.

The 532nd week of the vigil was taken over by the women's movement TJK-E. Xezal Yalçın, Aynur Kılıç, Xece Aslan, Selma Koç and Emine Demir are part of the TJK-E delegation.

Xezal Yalçın said on behalf of the group: “As you know, we have been holding a vigil here for more than 10 years. We stand here in Strasbourg before the Council of Europe demanding freedom for Abdullah Öcalan. For so many years he has not been able to see his family or his lawyers. We receive no information about his health and condition. He is the representative of 40 million Kurds. The representatives of all other people are free to stand up for the basic human rights, language, culture and identity of their peoples, but unfortunately the representative of 40 million Kurds has been held hostage on Imralı Island for 23 years.”

Yalçın underlined the general concerns about Öcalan's safety and health and stressed that without his freedom, no solution to the Kurdish question would be possible.

"Öcalan's philosophy is the philosophy of women's liberation"

Yalçın pointed to the special motivation as a women's movement to fight for Öcalan's freedom: "We will take over the vigil here for a week. We women have seen that Öcalan's philosophy means women's freedom. For this reason, we make a special appeal to the women of the world, especially to the Council of Europe. We stand here next to the CPT and in front of the Council of Europe building and we ask: 'Where is the justice?' The French state has not even provided space for the vigil for justice. This is a disgrace to democracy and a disgrace to humanity. Actually, the mayors, the lawyers from the European countries should be here, human rights activists and everyone who stands up for humanity and democracy should have visited us every day.”

"Why is Europe silent on Turkey's use of chemical weapons?"

The women also address the Turkish use of chemical weapons in South Kurdistan: “Chemical weapons such as sarin gas are thrown at our people every day. Rojava is bombed day and night. Gare is bombed day and night. Poison gas is used in the Medya Defense Zones. But the states that call themselves democracies and supposedly defend humanity and even animal rights are turning a blind eye to the situation of the Kurdish people.”

"As long as we live, we will stand by Rêber Apo"

Yalçın said: “Our call is on all democratic personalities. We appeal in particular to international organizations and states: it must be ensured that the lawyers meet with our leader as soon as possible. The right of family members to meet with prisoners is a legitimate right. This right is also denied. Why are these states silent? We condemn this silence. We will stand by Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] for as long as we live.”