Sign the petition to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe!
Peace in Kurdistan is supporting the international on-line petition to demand justice for Kurdish political prisoners. Click here to sign the petition.
Around 400 political prisoners in Turkey began an indefinite hunger strike to demand justice for Abdullah Ocalan and to raise awareness of the continued persecution of the Kurds in Turkey. Just a few weeks later, solidarity actions by hundreds more are taking place across prisons in Turkey and in Europe by Kurdish activists.
You will find information on the origins of the strike, the demands, letters from imprisoned hunger strikers in this information file, which we have made available for download (pdf). You can also read an interview with Fuad Kav, a Kurdish journalist and writer who is participating in the hunger strike in Strasbourg.
The strikers’ demands are clear. Ocalan has now been isolated from the outside world, with no visit, letters or phone calls, since July 2011 – a total of 251 days. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Europe has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure that he is not being subjected to inhumane or degrading treatment on the prison island of Imrali, where he has been held since 1999. For his removal from isolation and for renewed dialogue for a negotiated settlement to the Kurdish conflict, these striking prisoners, politicians and solidarity activists are willing to put their own health on the line.
You can help!
Make sure to sign the petition and show your support for the struggle. Read and spread the information you find here, including a letter written to Mr. Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the European Council you can also sign and send to him – download a copy here or use it to write your own letter. Keep up with daily updates from the hunger strikers at the Kurdish Freedom blog.
Every small action counts!