On 25.09.2026 it was announced by the HPG that the internationalist Pablo Manuel Figueiras Duarte, who went by the name Baran Nûjiyan Salema within the Kurdish liberation movement, has become immortal in his search of a free life. To learn that one of our comrades has fallen, at a time when we are building and defending a perspective of peace, reminds us of how the current phase was achieved. With every step in our struggle we will carry with us the dreams of our Şehîds and fulfill them in our practice. We know that they have made our current struggle possible. They show us the path we are taking to realize true freedom together.
As a child of a German mother and a Portuguese father, our comrade Baran felt the contradictions of capitalist modernity at an early age. After a long search for a way out of the daily experiences of exploitation and isolation in the empty life of the ruling system, Şehîd Baran found the answer to get out of these contradictions in the thoughts and philosophy of Rêber Apo. His perspective that a life based on principles of freedom can be achieved together by struggling honestly deepened his approach towards the apoist movement. Due to the deep connection he build up with the paradigm of Rêber Apo, he decided to join the guerrilla in the Free Mountains of Kurdistan in 2019. Through his openness and warm-heartedness, he fully devoted himself to the revolution and thus left a deep impression with his personality on everyone who met him. No matter where he was, with his ideas and proposals, he always thought of developing the struggles on an international level. Şehîd Baran takes his place in the long tradition of Haki Karer, Andrea Wolf-Ronahî, Michael Panser-Bager Nûjiyan and many other Şehîds who show us through their struggle that internationalism is based on feeling responsible for humanity – no matter where you are and where you come from. Şehîd Baran became immortal in Qandil on August 6, 2025 on his search for a free life.
“My name is Baran Nujiyan Salema. I was born in Germany. My real name is Pablo Manuel Figueiras Duarte. My family is half portuguese, half german.
I grew up in both countries. In summer 2019 i joined the PKK in Qendil. After a longer time of search i got to know the PKK. Actually through the books of Reberti (Abdullah Öcalan). Through the books of Serok Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) i got to know the PKK. I was convinced quickly and joined the PKK. I have been in the mountains of Kurdistan for two years now. One really comes to a whole new life when you arrive here first. There is this saying by Reberti (Abdullah Öcalan): “Being PKK means to reinvent yourself every day.” Here, where in the life we live together, this is realized the most. The communality we develop here. The values of friendship that are being lived here and become the stark opposite to the way of life that we knew in the system. A capitalist life, which always tries to put us in a competition, always dividing us. Essentially here sociality, essentially here the human nature emerges again. You get to know your roots and yourself and develop unity together. And this let’s you develop a will. We create a collective will with the unity we develop here. I came here, to the Sehid Mahir Academy, to join an education on sabotage. First, sabotage is a branch that is very flexible and plays an important role in many areas. In the city wars or in the mountains. No matter where, it plays an essential role. This is one point for me picking up sabotage. In general it is important for us to become professional. Of course we want to fulfill the perspective of the modern guerrilla that lays in front of us. We want deepen ourselves in this in order to deal stronger blows to the enemy. Wage a big fight and play our role in this.”
“My name is Baran Nujiyan. I was born in Germany. My family is on one side from Portugal, and the other side form Germany. In summer 2019 i joined the organization. From then on i stayed in Gare. After this i came to Metina this year. About the philosophy of Reberti (Abdullah Öcalan) i can say, from my personal view When i got to know the party and got to know the philosophy of Reberti (Abdullah Öcalan). I was myself already for some years on a search myself. In Europe i went to a lot of different movements I saw a lot of different attempts, a lot of people who are not satisfied with this system, a lot of people who search for an alternative, but as much i was searching i was seing a big wish, I did not see an real alternative or a substantial plan. A work on the basis of a big goal, with a strategy and tactics was on one side always limited. And even though i went a lot around i did not feel like i got an answer really. So in 2018 the Kurdish Freedom Movement was catching my attention. Especially during the war in Afrin it caught my attention. Then i researched a bit and after some time and the reading of the writings of Serokati [Abdullah Öcalan] had an big impact on me. Because to a lot of contradictions i had been facing before in the practice of many different movements i saw and which i was part of I saw a solution to these conntradictions [in the writings of Abdullah Öcalan]. And there i was convinced very quickly. And i had been feeling before that, if you want to develop an alternative to this system and do something against it, it has to be a immense task. But all the other places my search had led me to, none of them could really answer to this big task. In the philosophy i saw this deepness for the first time and there i saw, even though one just really can deepen in this later on, that our struggle here i splaying an historical role. How wide the frame is we are struggling in right now here. And connected to this I can say that i saw in many places the attempt to live different, to live together, develop a different sociality. But really here in the life in the party i experienced for the first time to struggle together, to see the shortcomings that arise, always trying to lift up your friends and to help them develop. The shortcomings we all bring with us, the shortcomings we have learned in our life before we joined, to struggle against them without end and by this elevate each other, is something really different which one maybe can not fully express with words. The operation that is being executed right now, the war that has been fought this year and the past year as well, one just can’t ignore how much of a historic significance this phase has.
How important it is not only in a small frame but a global one. Essentially in the frame of the history of mankind it is a very important moment. And a lot of things are being decided here. And the attempt of the Turkish state to annhilate our movement by bringing this war using all this technology against us, you truly realize that this war especially in the past year and so many friends that have waged a incredible resistance and without a doubt you want to play your role in this and take your duty. You want to join this in every aspect because the significance is so obvious. And the examples the friends have set this year and last year are so high. Great heroism was shown. And of course you see yourself responsible and want to live up to the standards that have been set.”