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12-05-05, 12:00
Turkey's trial of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan was unfair, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled.
Although the ruling is not binding, Turkey has said it will do whatever is necessary to fulfil the law.
Ocalan was convicted of treason in 1999. He was blamed for 30,000 deaths in a 15-year war between his PKK group and Turkish security forces.
A retrial in Turkey could stir tensions as it makes its bid for EU membership.
Long process
"The applicant was not tried by an independent and impartial tribunal," the court said in a statement.
The judges ruled that the presence of a military judge on the panel meant that the Turkish court's judgement could not have been fair.
Ocalan is currently serving a life sentence as the sole inmate of a prison on a Turkish island.
Turkey scrapped the death penalty in 2002 to come into line with European Union requirements.
The country is at present trying to meet the EU's entry conditions on human rights.
"The Turkish Republic is a state based on the rule of law and will undertake the procedure that the law requires," said Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, quoted by AFP.
In an interview on state television, a government spokesperson said that the Turkish people should not fear Ocalan's release and should have faith in the state's ability to handle the case.
A lower chamber of the European Court has already criticised many aspects of the original trial, including Ocalan's lack of access to the proceedings and the imposition of the death penalty.
Nationalism
The BBC's Steve Bryant in Istanbul says a retrial would awaken violent passions among both Turkish and Kurdish nationalists.
His capture by Turkish intelligence agents and subsequent conviction were a cause for huge jubilation across much of Turkey.
There is little doubt, our correspondent says, that Ocalan - a figure of hatred for the majority of hardline Turkish nationalists - would be convicted again.
But the government is worried that a retrial would provide an opportunity for Ocalan to address and rally his PKK rebels, sparking an explosion of Turkish nationalism.
Although the ruling is not binding, Turkey has said it will do whatever is necessary to fulfil the law.
Ocalan was convicted of treason in 1999. He was blamed for 30,000 deaths in a 15-year war between his PKK group and Turkish security forces.
A retrial in Turkey could stir tensions as it makes its bid for EU membership.
Long process
"The applicant was not tried by an independent and impartial tribunal," the court said in a statement.
The judges ruled that the presence of a military judge on the panel meant that the Turkish court's judgement could not have been fair.
Ocalan is currently serving a life sentence as the sole inmate of a prison on a Turkish island.
Turkey scrapped the death penalty in 2002 to come into line with European Union requirements.
The country is at present trying to meet the EU's entry conditions on human rights.
"The Turkish Republic is a state based on the rule of law and will undertake the procedure that the law requires," said Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, quoted by AFP.
In an interview on state television, a government spokesperson said that the Turkish people should not fear Ocalan's release and should have faith in the state's ability to handle the case.
A lower chamber of the European Court has already criticised many aspects of the original trial, including Ocalan's lack of access to the proceedings and the imposition of the death penalty.
Nationalism
The BBC's Steve Bryant in Istanbul says a retrial would awaken violent passions among both Turkish and Kurdish nationalists.
His capture by Turkish intelligence agents and subsequent conviction were a cause for huge jubilation across much of Turkey.
There is little doubt, our correspondent says, that Ocalan - a figure of hatred for the majority of hardline Turkish nationalists - would be convicted again.
But the government is worried that a retrial would provide an opportunity for Ocalan to address and rally his PKK rebels, sparking an explosion of Turkish nationalism.