Group from Hamburg takes over Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Vigil

The action has been carried out in front of the Council of Europe and its affiliated CPT buildings in Strasbourg since 25 June 2012.

A group of activists coming from Hamburg have taken over the Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan Vigil in front of the Council of Europe.

The action has been carried out in front of the Council of Europe and its affiliated CPT (Committee for the Prevention of Torture) buildings in Strasbourg since 25 June 2012.

The action is carried out by Kurds and their friends from a different city of Europe every week. This week, is week 424 and the group taking over the Vigil is from Hamburg.

Making a statement on behalf of the group, Mahmut Erdoğan said that it would not be acceptable for the CPT to remain silent about the heavy isolation imposed on the Kurdish people's leader for years.

Mahmut Erdoğan said: "We do not accept this silence and condemn it," and asked the Kurdish people to react against it. "Keeping quiet about isolation means that the Kurdish people accept it."

'We condemn the genocide mentality’

Another group member, Zülfü Bingöl, condemned the genocide carried out by ISIS against the Yazidi Kurds. He said: "We condemn the genocide mentality targeting Kurdish people in Shengal on 3 August 2014".

In his statement Bingöl also stressed that the Kurdish people will not obey such orders of slaughter and will not give up their demand for freedom of Öcalan.