Stand with Abdullah Öcalan!
We call on the public to participate in the campaign, “Freedom for Öcalan – For a political solution to the Kurdish question.”
In 1999, the Kurdish people’s leader, Abdullah Öcalan, was abducted in a coordinated international conspiracy. Governments that speak of democracy — Turkey, the USA, Israel, Greece, and NATO allies — worked together to silence him. His kidnapping was a message: Those who fight for freedom will be branded as criminals and “terrorists.”
But history teaches us something else: Those whom the rulers call “terrorists” are often the same voices the future calls visionaries. Assata Shakur and Nelson Mandela are examples for the countless freedom fighters throughout history wearing that label while fighting against oppression and exploitation.
For 26 years in Imralı Island Prison, tortured and isolated, Öcalan keeps being held captive for being a direct threat to the ruling world-system. He is not simply a prisoner. He is a thinker whose ideas — on women’s liberation, ecology, and grassroots democracy — have inspired millions across Kurdistan and beyond. He has called for peaceful, democratic solutions, while others only offer war. Like Mandela once said, “Only free men can negotiate; prisoners cannot enter into contracts”. If there is to be a just peace in Turkey and Kurdistan, Öcalan must be free to ensure the success of the Process for Peace and Democratic Society.
On October 10, 2025, the second anniversary of the global campaign “Freedom for Öcalan – A Political Solution to the Kurdish Question”, young people everywhere will raise their voices. Over the course of two years, thousands of actions — rallies, readings, concerts, art, videos, and delegations — have echoed the call. Now, it’s our turn to make it louder than ever!
The Scam That Was the Trial
In June 1999, after only a few months, Öcalan was sentenced to death in a “trial” that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) later declared unfair. It included a military judge; his lawyers were denied real access, and the international ones were barred entirely. Although the death penalty was abolished in Turkey in 2002, his sentence was changed to life imprisonment without parole — a punishment that the ECtHR has ruled is itself inhuman and illegal under international law. Despite these clear verdicts, Turkey has refused him a retrial and continues to obstruct legal remedies.
Torture by Isolation
Out of his 26 years in prison, at least 20 years have been spent in near-total or total isolation — conditions amounting to inhumane or degrading treatment. During the first decade, his only contact was with prison staff and occasional, brief visits from his lawyers, as initially, he was the sole prisoner guarded by 1000 Turkish soldiers. The UN Mandela Rules prohibit prolonged solitary confinement for longer than 15 days. Öcalan endured over 3600 days. Today, his freedom is not just about one person — it is about whether peoples can live together in dignity, harmony, and democracy.
Our Voices Matter!
Share his ideas in your schools, campuses, collectives, and online spaces. Organize actions, art, music, and teach-ins to mark the October 10th Anniversary of the Global Campaign for his Freedom.
As young people today, we know how the word “terrorist” is used as a weapon: to delegitimize entire peoples, to justify mass imprisonment, war, and repression. We will not let them erase Abdullah Öcalan with that same lie.
Stand in solidarity with Kurdish youth, and with all people fighting for freedom!
Young people, the future is ours to create! Let us be the generation that breaks down walls of isolation; the generation that stops the cycles of violence and injustice! In the words of Assata Shakur: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Freedom for Öcalan. Freedom for all political prisoners. Freedom for all of us.
Democracy against authoritarian repression.
Hope against despair.
Send us your actions to freedom-delegation@systemli.org, or on Instagram to Insisting on Freedom!