AMSTERDAM, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The Dutch government said on
Friday it has denied political asylum to a Kurdish rebel leader from the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 

Nuriye Kespir has been held by Dutch immigration services since her
arrival in the Netherlands in September. She is wanted in Turkey
where the government has fought for decades against the PKK, which
it brands a "terrorist" organisation. 

By denying Kespir asylum, the Netherlands faces a dilemma. Dutch
law forbids extradition to a country where a person could face the
death penalty. Dutch prosecutors are now investigating her to see
whether she should face trial in the Netherlands. 

The PKK, which launched a violent campaign for independence in
Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast in 1984, has also been dubbed a
"foreign terrorist organisation" by the United States. 

More than 30,000 people have been killed in Kurdish separatist
violence in Turkey, although the situation has cooled since the arrest
of PKK commander Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. He is currently on death
row in Turkey.