Court to issue verdict on Ocalan compensation claim
A Greek court was expected to issue a decision on a compensation case filed by the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), according to reports.
Abdullah Ocalan claims that the Greek government failed to offer him protection after he requested political asylum in 1988. He is seeking 20,100 euros in compensation.
Ocalan’s lawyers had filed a complaint at the Athens Administrative Court last year, but the trial was postponed to this month.
Before his arrest, Ocalan, known to allies as “Apo,” was based in Syria. He fled after Turkey threatened armed action against Damascus if he were not handed over. The PKK leader was eventually captured by CIA-backed Turkish special forces at the Greek embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
Jailed since 1999 on an island near Istanbul, Ocalan was originally sentenced to death before his sentence was converted to life in prison.
