On 16 January 1999, before the Italian authorities...

On 16 January 1999, before the Italian authorities had decided to grant or deny him political asylum, Ocalan left for Russia again. Then, after attempting to enter Holland and passing through Greece, he arrived in Kenya as a guest of the Greek ambassador at his residence in Nairobi where, on February 15, Ocalan was arrested by the Turkish Secret Service while heading for the airport, in an attempt to find another country that might grant him refuge. While detained in the island prison of Imrali, in the Sea of Marmara, Ocalan began to confess, asked his fighters to lay down their arms, and declared that he was prepared to serve the Turkish state. Accused of treason and separatism, he was condemned to death on June 29. His sentence was confirmed by the Turkish Court of Appeal on November 25, but the European Court of Human Rights requested that Turkey suspend the execution until it had ruled on the appeal presented by Ocalan's lawyers.