Abdullah Öcalan has been awarded the honorary citizenship by the Italian city of Rende (in the region of Calabria).

With an official ceremony the city council has given the award to the Kurdish people’s leader and mayor Marcello Manna has said “We wanted to underline the importance of civil and human rights and underline that in Turkey often they are not respected.”

Various of the city’s ministers have underlined how Öcalan has been working for a political and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question and how he has continued to work despite the 22 years in prison and isolation.

Among the Italian cities that have granted honorary citizenship to the Kurdish people's leader are Palermo, Napoli, Palagonia, Reggio Emilia, Riace, Martano, Pinerolo, Castel de Giudice, Castel Bottaccio, Berceto, Cinquefrondi, Fossalto