An international campaign called "Freedom for Öcalan – A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question" was launched on October 10, 2023 in 74 places around the world. 74 represents the age of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan who has been held as a hostage on the prison island of Imrali since his handover to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy that began on 9 October 1998, when he was forced to leave Syria and ended on 15 February 1999, when he was deported from Kenya to Turkey.

One of the places where main press conferences were held was in front of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. The campaign unites social movements, political parties, municipalities, unions, activists, intellectuals, and millions of Kurds and their friends worldwide around a shared goal: making a just and democratic political solution to Turkey's century-old Kurdish question possible by enabling Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom as a prerequisite to the beginning of a new peace process in Turkey and the wider region.

The global campaign has been ongoing for nearly two years with the support of the Kurdish diaspora in Europe, trade unions, human rights organizations, and intellectuals.The campaign, which spread across Europe with marches, rallies, panels, vigils, signature campaigns, and diplomatic initiatives, brought the end of Abdullah Öcalan’s 25 years of severe isolation in Imralı Prison and the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question to the international agenda.

Here are the day-by-day details of what has happened since the campaign’s inception in Europe up to the present day:

October 10, 2023

Press statements were organized in 74 locations, primarily in Strasbourg, home to the Council of Europe, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

Simultaneous press statements were also made not only across European countries but in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tokyo, India, Kenya, South Africa, Latin America, and dozens of other locations.

A broad spectrum of people all around the world, including academics, journalists, civil society organizations, political parties, members of parliament, human rights activists, philosophers, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, women’s organizations, and representatives of indigenous peoples, launched the "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan, a Political Solution to the Kurdish Question" initiative on a global scale.

October 16, 2023

The European Kurdish Democratic Societies Congress (KCDK-E) announced its participation in the campaign with a press conference. Co-chairs Zübeyde Zümrüt and Engin Sever called on the Kurdish community in Europe to mobilize.

December 7-14, 2023

As part of the "Global Abdullah Öcalan Books Day," public readings from Öcalan's books were held in 160 locations in Europe, including Germany, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK), Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Tent protests and forums were also organized in Frankfurt, Paris, and Geneva.

December 9, 2023

Across Europe (Belgium, Germany, France), an International Women's Delegation composed of lawyers, members of parliament, ecologists, and civil society representatives from seven countries visited Turkey to meet with Abdullah Öcalan's lawyers. The delegation prepared a report on the conditions of isolation in Imralı and submitted it to the CPT, the United Nations (UN), and the Council of Europe.

2024

January 8, 2024

Under the leadership of KCDK-E, a campaign was launched to send hundreds of thousands of postcards to Abdullah Öcalan.

January 23-25, 2024

At the call of the KCDK-E, a three-day action was held in front of the building of the Council of Europe. The protest denounced the isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan.

February 1, 2024

Public meetings were organized in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Dresden (Germany), where participants discussed the isolation of Öcalan and a possible solution to the Kurdish question.

February 7, 2024

Events were held in Hamburg (Germany), Sarcelles (France), and Stockholm (Sweden), calling for participation in the Cologne march scheduled for February 17.

February 10, 2024

In Mannheim and Frankfurt (Germany), young people launched the "Journey for Freedom" march and a campaign to send postcards to Öcalan.

An internationalist march was held between Basel and Saint-Louis on the Swiss-French border.

February 11-15, 2024

Internationalist activists launched the "Freedom March". Over 200 internationalists, the majority of whom were women, joined the march from France, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Chile. The march concluded in Strasbourg on February 15.

On the 25th anniversary of the international conspiracy against Öcalan, young activists unfurled a banner bearing Öcalan's image inside the plenary hall of the European Parliament, chanting the slogan, "Our patience has run out, freedom for Abdullah Öcalan."

February 17, 2024

A central march and rally were held in Cologne, Germany, with the participation of hundreds of thousands. Banners bearing Abdullah Öcalan's image were carried throughout the march.

March 8, 2024

As part of the International Women’s Day events, Abdullah Öcalan’s paradigm of women’s liberation was highlighted under the slogan "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" (Woman, Life, Freedom) Women’s organizations across Europe also supported these events promoted by the Free Women’s Movement (TJA).

March 23, 2024

At the Panathinaikos-Barcelona EuroLeague basketball game in Athens, Greece, a banner reading "Freedom for Öcalan" was unfurled.

April 4, 2024

On the occasion of Abdullah Öcalan's 75th birthday, celebrations and marches were organized. The demonstrations once again denounced the isolation imposed on him in Imralı.

April 13, 2024

Rallies demanding Abdullah Öcalan's freedom were held in Mannheim (Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

May 8, 2024

The Peace in Kurdistan Initiative wrote a letter urging the CPT to send a delegation to Imralı Prison. Renowned personalities such as Noam Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn, and Simon Dubbins from Unite the Union also expressed their support.

October 1-10, 2024

On the occasion of the campaign’s first anniversary, a new call for action was made. The CPT’s response to the letters demonstrated the campaign’s growing influence.

In Spain, the Feminist Women’s Collective organized a seminar discussing Abdullah Öcalan’s ideas and the Kurdish women’s revolution.

In Berlin, Germany, an exhibition was opened displaying portraits of Abdullah Öcalan.

In London, the UK, Kurdish institutions called for breaking down the walls of isolation in Imralı.

In Kiel, Germany, Defend Kurdistan, Jîyana Jîn, and the Kiel Democratic Kurdish Community Assembly set up stands introducing Abdullah Öcalan’s books.

In Geneva, Switzerland, a reading event was held at Fahrenheit Bookstore focusing on Abdullah Öcalan’s model of democratic life.

In Aarau and St. Gallen, Switzerland, the documentary "History of Fire" was screened bythe Rojbîn Women’s Assembly and Tîrêjên Rojê.

November 1, 2024

A civil disobedience action was held in Strasbourg, France.

2025

January 2, 2025

In the Basque Country and Catalonia, senators and members of parliament sent a letter to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, demanding action for Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom and a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question.

January 15, 2025

In Strasbourg, France, during the first sessions of the European Parliament in 2025, members of the European Parliament visited the "Vigil for Freedom" for Abdullah Öcalan.

January 29, 2025

In the UK, the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign wrote a letter to Xavier Bettel, Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, demanding Abdullah Öcalan’s freedom.

February 15, 2025

In Strasbourg, on the 26th anniversary of the international conspiracy against Öcalan on February 15, 1999, a central march and rally were held with the participation of hundreds of thousands. The crowd gathered at Parc de l’Etoile to demand Öcalan’s freedom.

In Lorient (Lannester), France, the 26-day-long "Long March" was launched, demanding Öcalan’s freedom.

April 11-12, 2025

In Italy, a conference was organized under the leadership of the Kurdistan Information Bureau and the global campaign committee, hosted by the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL). More than 300 delegates from 16 countries participated in the conference, where Emily Clachy, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Bologna, and Simon Dubbins from Unite the Union delivered speeches.

June 5-10, 2025

The European Forum for Freedom and Peace (EFFP) launched the campaign "I Want to Meet with Abdullah Öcalan." The Left Group in the European Parliament, the Party of the European Left, and Progressive International expressed their support for the campaign.