2,006 signatures have been collected as part of the campaign launched by the Syrian Initiative for the Freedom Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the Syrian Lawyers’ Initiative to Defend Abdullah Öcalan on August 20, 2025. The campaign, which is supported by intellectuals, academics, politicians, and tribal leaders, continues.
The petition has gathered support not only in North and East Syria but also in the regions of Latakia, Tartus, Sweida, Homs, Aleppo, and Damascus. Participants include politicians, lawyers, academics, doctors, intellectuals, tribal leaders, community figures, activists, and artists.
Messages published on the official website of the initiative running the campaign highlight the importance of Abdullah Öcalan’s ideas for the struggle for freedom in the Middle East.
Syrian artist Semih Şeker compared Öcalan’s ideas to the struggles of Nelson Mandela and Mervan Barhusi, stating, “With his philosophy of democratic and ethical politics, he represents the will of the people.”
Egyptian writer and journalist Islam Def stated that Öcalan’s democratic nation philosophy offers an alternative to the nation-state, saying, “It has opened the door to a communal society based on equality and women’s freedom.”
Syrian writer Nebil El Milhim emphasized that Öcalan transformed the prison into an intellectual space, stating that he developed “a new model of governance based on ideas and hope,” similar to Mandela and Gandhi.