Ocalan was captured in Nairobi by the CIA on 15th February 1999. He was refused asylum in Europe and was promptly passed to Turkish special forces and subsequently imprisoned on Imrali Island 35km from Istanbul. Despite being regarded as a terrorist by Turkey and by many in the west, Ocalan is worshipped by the exiled Turkish Kurdish community in London for his successful mobilisation of the Kurdish national movement.

When the war broke in Iraq, Kurdish community organisations demonstrated against the invasion and also highlighted the plight of the imprisoned Turkish Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan, seen on the yellow flags. Fear of a possible Kurdish state in Iraq has increased oppression of the Kurds in Turkey.