Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abdulah Ocalan entered Greece illegally on 29 January 1999 after failing to find refuge in other European countries and in spite of the fact that the Greek Government had made it publicly clear that, for a number of important reasons, he should not come to Greece. Given the nature of Greek-Turkish relations, his presence on greek soil would have charged the heavy Greek-Turkish agenda with a potentially explosive issue.

Confronted with the fait accompli of the presence of Mr. Ocalan, the Greek government proceeded to convince him to leave Greece urgently for a country, where he might receive political asylum. For this purpose, Greece initiated consultations with third countries and flew Mr. Ocalan to Kenya as a temporary measure. His stay at the residence of the Greek Ambassador in Nairobi, where he was allowed to remain for humanitarian reasons, was prolonged, because consultations with other countries did not produce results and also because Mr. Ocalan rejected several options proposed to him. In the meantime, his presence was revealed to the Kenyan Authorities, which pressed for his departure from Kenya. Following discussions, these same Authorities agreed to fly him to a safe destination. Ocalan agreed. Instead, he was, according to all evidence, delivered to a turkish airplane waiting at Nairobi airport. He was seized by Turkish commandos and was flown to Turkey.

Concerning the case of the three associates of Mr. Ocalan, it is to be noted that due to the exceptional circumstances of the arrest of Mr Ocalan, following his stay in the Greek Embassy in Nairobi, the Greek Government decided, for humanitarian reasons, to provide the only person without valid documents, with a refugee status TDV.