Turkey's state security court formally lifted the death...

Turkey's state security court formally lifted the death sentence passed on Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan after his capture and trial in 1999, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.
It said the sentence had been commuted to life imprisonment in line with Turkey's move to abolish the death sentence in August to meet European Union human rights criteria. Though a formality, the court action has strong symbolic importance in Turkey.
Ocalan, held as a lone prisoner on Imrali island near Istanbul, had led the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) through 16 years of guerrilla warfare that cost 30,000 lives in the Turkish southeast. He was captured by Turkish special forces in Kenya after being forced from a base in Syria, tried on Imrali and convicted of treason in 1999.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said in a statement the ruling reflected Turkey's reform efforts.
"I welcome this decision which is clearly in line with the spirit of the recently adopted reforms in Turkey," he said.