The institutions and people of the Hesekê city in northern Syria expressed their support for the global campaign Freedom for Öcalan and a political solution for the Kurdish question", which was also joined by the North-East Syrian People's Initiative.

The international campaign, which was launched simultaneously in over a hundred places all around the world on 10 October, unites social movements, political parties, municipalities, trade unions, activists, intellectuals and millions of Kurds and people in solidarity with the Kurdish liberation struggle worldwide around a common goal: the participation of Abdullah Öcalan in a dialogue for a just and democratic political solution to the Kurdistan question in Turkey, which has remained unresolved for more than a century.

Imprisoned for more than 24 years on the prison island of Imrali, the Kurdish people's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has been held incommunicado for 31 months now, without any contact with the outside world. The complete lack of information regarding the situation of Öcalan and his three fellow prisoners – Hamili Yıldırım, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş – raises growing concerns about their safety and health. Countless requests for visits filed for years by the lawyers and families of Imrali detainees have gone unanswered.

The people of Hesekê and representatives of local institutions took to the streets on Saturday and staged a march under the motto “The key to a solution for the Middle East is on Imrali”.

Speaking at the demonstration, Evîn Başo, Chairperson of the Women’s Committee in Cizire Region, saluted the international campaign and said: “Those who seek to come up with a solution to the problems in the Middle East, and those who want to achieve peace and freedom should know that the key is on Imrali. We call on women and all pro-freedom peoples to support and join the campaign. Leader Öcalan’s freedom is the freedom of libertarian and democratic peoples.”