Kurd burns himself to death for Ocalan release

A 17-year-old student has died after setting himself on fire in south-eastern Turkey. He was protesting against the detention of Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), officials said Wednesday.

AFP

The body was found on Monday night next to the Euphrates river in Diyarbakir city in the Kurdish-majority south-east of the country. A suicide note found next to his body demanded the release of Ocalan.

Ocalan has been serving a life sentence for treason since 1999.

The PKK has been fighting the Ankara government since 1984, and 45,000 people have died in the conflict.

Protesters clashed with police on Tuesday during demonstrations in the south-east to mark the 12^th anniversary of Ocalan's arrest in Kenya.