Rebel Kurd Files Last Appeal of Sentence
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ISTANBUL, Turkey — Lawyers for condemned Kurdish guerrilla chief Abdullah Ocalan filed a final appeal against his death sentence with a Turkish court Friday.
The request for a “correction” to his sentence is the last legal avenue open to Ocalan. A correction request is rarely granted, but all domestic legal channels of appeal must be exhausted before a case can be taken to the European Court of Human Rights.
The rights court, based in Strasbourg, France, has asked Turkey to stay any execution while it considers Ocalan’s plea that his sentence breaches European law.
The European Union, which recently granted Turkey membership-candidate status, has urged the government not to hang him.
Ocalan was sentenced to death in June for leading a 15-year armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule.
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