26 people launched a 26-day “Long March” in France on 21 January as part of the international campaign launched in October 2023, demanding “Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question”. The march draws public attention to Öcalan’s 26 years of captivity in the İmralı Island Prison in Turkey.

The activists will conclude the action with a rally in Strasbourg on February 15, the anniversary of the international conspiracy that resulted in the capture of the Kurdish leader in Kenya and his handover to Turkey in 1999.

On the 17th day of the action, the activists gathered at Lille's République Square, where they met with Kurdish residents and friends, distributed leaflets and made a statement.

Explaining the purpose of their action and the international campaign, the activists stated the following: “In the first stage of the international campaign, we set out to break the isolation and we partially broke it. Our goal for the second stage of the campaign is to ensure the physical freedom of our leader. We started our 26-day Long March with this slogan. Today, in Lille, we form a circle for the physical freedom of our leader. We believe that the physical freedom of Leader Öcalan is close. Our action will end in Strasbourg on February 15, when our leader is expected to make a historic statement. We hope to see all of you attend the rally in Strasbourg.”

The protesters formed a circle of freedom and shouted slogans demanding “Freedom for Öcalan”.