Kurdish Rebel Leader Ocalan in Kenyan Hands, Greece Says

Greece said today that fugitive Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was in the hands of Kenyan authorities.

“The Greek government . . . provided a place to stay in Kenya where he went after efforts to find refuge,” the government said in a statement. It added that Ocalan decided to negotiate with Kenyan authorities, who took charge of him late Monday.

“Since that hour his whereabouts have not been known,” the statement said.

In London, up to 50 demonstrators forced their way into the Greek Embassy early today and barricaded themselves inside, British police said. A caller saying he represented a group supporting Ocalan--Turkey’s most wanted man--told news organizations that the protesters would stay until the rebel leader was granted suitable refuge.

Ocalan, sought by Turkey for leading a separatist campaign in which nearly 30,000 people have died, has been on the run since he left Italy on Jan. 16 after failing to gain immediate asylum.

His whereabouts have been unknown since early February when he was refused entry into the Netherlands, where he reportedly wanted to appear before the International Court of Arbitration to plead the Kurdish cause.

On Monday, a protester in Athens set himself ablaze outside the parliament during demonstrations to demand that Greece grant political asylum to Ocalan.

The flames were put out by other protesters and firefighters, who were on the scene after threats of self-immolations from some of the estimated 200 protesters.