Kurd terror leader takes Greece to court

Agence France-Presse

Acting for Öcalan, Greek lawyer Yiannis Rahiotis filed a compensation claim for 20,100 euros ($25,500), alleging that the Greek state betrayed him after offering assurances of safety, the source said.

On the run from Turkish agents, Öcalan hid in Athens for two days in January 1999 before being helped by Greek intelligence to flee to Kenya, where he was arrested by Turkish agents with the aid of U.S. intelligence and condemned to death after a trial in Turkey.

The sentence was later commuted to life in prison as Ankara abolished capital punishment as part of reforms sought by the European Union, which Turkey is in talks to join.

Diplomatic disaster
Three Greek ministers were sacked over the affair at the time and 13 people including Öcalan were later put on trial over his illegal entry, which proved a diplomatic disaster for Greece.

Öcalan is the head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and much of the international community.

The PKK took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's southeastern region 24 years ago, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 44,000 lives.