NEWS CENTER - Prominent women from various parts of the world sent a letter to the Council of Europe for the implementation of Abdullah Öcalan's "right to hope". In the letter with 5 concrete demands, headings such as the implementation of the ECHR judgement and the release of Abdullah Öcalan stand out.

 

Prominent women from various parts of the world sent a letter to the Council of Europe (CoE) for the implementation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "right to hope". Among the signatories of the letter are renowned women such as Indian feminist Abha Bhaiya, Harriet Fraad, one of the founders of the US women's movement, Argentinian thinker Rita Segato, Yemeni Peace Ambassador Dr Raida Al Zabhani and French philosopher Catherine Malabou. 

 

The letter included five concrete demands: implementation of the ECHR's 2014 judgement, the release of Abdullah Öcalan, concrete steps by the Parliament to resolve the Kurdish question, the EU and international actors to encourage the Turkish state to take steps, the removal of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) from the list of "terrorist" organisations and an end to the criminalisation of Kurds.  

 

The letter reads: 

 

"Ian Borg, president, Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and Francesca Camilleri Vettiger, president, Ministers’ Deputies

 

We write to you today as women from around the world concerned with peace and human rights with an urgent request.

 

In 1999, Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan was abducted as a result of an international conspiracy and imprisoned in Imrali Island Prison. Despite this, he remains central to Kurdish struggles for autonomy and democracy in the Middle East. His theories inspire global movements for women’s liberation, ecology and coexistence. 

 

Today, as a key interlocutor within the ongoing process for ‘Peace and Democratic Society,’ and legitimate representative of the Kurdish people, the conditions must be created for Mr. Öcalan to participate fully in the process, and eventually for his freedom. 

 

With regard to legal processes, the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) 2014 decision on the 'Right to Hope' remains crucial in recognising Mr. Öcalan’s right to have his case reassessed and eventually to secure his freedom. 

 

In September 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will discuss again Mr. Öcalan's case, and Turkey’s refusal to implement decisions of the ECtHR. This is a key opportunity for European institutions to take a clear stance on this topic, and to support democratisation in Turkey. The decisions of the court, and mechanisms for their implementation are there; what is needed now is political will, action realising a commitment to democratic politics.

 

Therefore, we write to you today urgently to insist that:

 

1. The 2014 European Court of Human Rights decision Öcalan v. Turkey must be implemented, especially regarding changes in Turkish law concerning the right to hope, which holds that life imprisonment without the possibility of release is a violation of the prohibition of torture and ill treatment. 

 

2. Turkey must free Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. The physical freedom of Mr. Öcalan, the architect of this peace process, is necessary for the resolution of the Kurdish Question. He must be allowed to participate in political processes, to communicate freely with his lawyers, the press, political parties and representatives, civil society organisations, and other actors. 

 

3. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey must take concrete political and legal steps towards democratisation and the recognition of rights of Kurds in Turkey, to promote and protect equality among all peoples of the country.

 

4. EU member states and other international actors must encourage Turkey to take immediate action to participate honestly in this process, applying diplomatic pressure and offering mediation efforts to ensure that Turkey upholds democratic principles, ceases military hostilities, and commits to a credible, inclusive, and internationally supported peace process. 

 

5. Turkey, EU member states, the United States, and other relevant countries should delist the PKK, and end the unjust criminalisation of Kurds. This will open the way for the success of the new process.

 

Legal and political pathways must be created in order to find a resolution to the Kurdish question. For Turkey to become democratic, it must resolve the Kurdish issue on a democratic basis. 

 

The success of this process would have sweeping implications for the broader region, opening the way for similar processes for peace and the strengthening of democratic societies. In the context of a Middle East increasingly consumed by wars between nation-states at the expense of peoples of the region, insisting on peace and democratic self-governance not only takes on a heightened importance but shows a 'third way' offering solutions to many of the current crises. 

 

The strong participation of all parts of society, both locally and internationally is also needed - it is not without a reason that Mr. Öcalan calls this new process as one of 'democratic society'.  As women who have actively supported peace initiatives in the past, we know that if the process is embraced by civil society organisations, women, young people, and all strata of society, we can move the process out of the deadlock of current governmental politics, and towards a real and lasting peace. For this reason, your participation and commitment to the five steps outlined above is essential. 

 

Thank you for your kind consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Catherine Malabou, Professor for Comparative Literature and European Languages and Studies at the University of California at Irvine - USA

 

Harriet Fraad, feminist writer and activist - USA

 

Franziska Stier, BastA! Secretary - Switzerland

 

Donna Haraway, Distinguished Professor Emerita, writer - USA

 

Rita Segato, Distinguished Professor Emerita, writer - Argentina

 

Dr. Carol Mann, FemAid President - France

 

Margaret Owen O.B.E., International Human Rights Lawyer - UK

 

Janet Biehl, independent scholar - USA

 

Abha Bhaiya, Jagori Rural Charitable Trust - India

 

Rahila Gupta, writer and activist - UK

 

Coni Ledesma, International Women’s Alliance - Netherlands

 

Saloua Guiga, President of African Union Women and Peace Committee - Tunisia

 

Dr. Houssami Mahjoub, Professor University of Tunis - Tunisia

 

Sawsan Shoman, Noon Initiative - Lebanon

 

Bahiyah Al Saqqaf, PASS Foundation - Peace for Sustainable Societies, President - Yemen

 

Afraa Al Hariri, Peace Track Initiative, Human Rights activist - Yemen

 

Dr. Raida Al Zabhani, Peace Ambassador - Yemen

 

Lara Reddy, Editor, writer, poet and organiser - Italy

 

Bianca Argentieri, filmmaker and activist - Italy

 

Chiara Cruciati, Deputy Editor of Il Manifesto - Italy

 

Dr. Fernaz Attia, Political Scientist - Egypt

 

Sherifah Ghaddar, Our Algeria, President - Algeria

 

Dr. Farah Sabir, Baghdad University - Iraq

 

Shamsa Najar, Politician - Iraq

 

Dinah Altai, Iraq Communist Party Central Committee - Iraq

 

Dr. Alaa Alqaisi, Women’s Rights Defender - Iraq

 

Ashwaq Abdullah, Civil Rights Activist - Iraq

 

Yusra Ahmad Majid, Journalist - Iraq

 

Iman Ibrahim, Iraq Worker’s Union, President - Iraq

 

Samirah Mahmoud, Women’s Rights Defender - Iraq

 

Aseel Hussein Ali, Journalist - Iraq

 

Ankham Ibrahim Jamil, Journalist - Iraq

 

Wassan Al Jibouri, Journalist - Iraq

 

Aseel Mohammad Hasan, Journalist - Iraq

 

Dr. Ruqeyya Mazhar Qasim, Politician - Iraq

 

Hanan Ismail Ahmad, Politician - Iraq

 

Zahraa Abdullah Mahmoud, Politician - Iraq

 

Zahra Khadim Yassin, Politician - Iraq

 

Aya Ali Jasim, University of Baghdad - Iraq"