KURDISH nationalists marked the 17th anniversary yesterday of Turkey’s abduction and jailing of their leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader was kidnapped by the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (NIO) — reportedly with the help of the CIA — in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on February 15 1999.

NIO deputy undersecretary Cevat Ones told now jailed journalist Can Dundar that Mr Ocalan had stood in the way of US schemes to establish a separate Kurdish state in northern Iraq.

He has languished in solitary confinement on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara ever since.

Last April he was placed in complete isolation without even access to his lawyer.

On Sunday thousands marched in the Kurdish-controlled northern Syrian towns of Kobane and Qamishli to demand Mr Ocalan’s release.

The People’s Protection Units militia in Qamishli were reportedly on high alert overnight as Ankara deployed extra troops and armoured vehicles in the Turkish town of Nusaybin, just across the border.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Britain, the United States, Germany, Venezuela, Ecuador, Canada and Belgium, led by South African Judge Essa Moosa — Nelson Mandela’s defence lawyer — arrived in Istanbul intent on visiting Mr Ocalan.

The British-based Peace in Kurdistan Campaign said: “If the tragedy unfolding in Turkey is to be ended, it is essential that there are talks and that Abdullah Ocalan can resume the search for a peaceful path for his people.”

“Ending the isolation and ensuring the freedom of Abdullah Ocalan will not only strengthen the democratic peace process but also consolidate the fight against the Islamic State [Isis].”