BERLIN 

A German court has convicted a man to four years and three months in prison for his leading role in the terrorist group PKK’s activities.

Kenan Ayas was found guilty of carrying out recruitment, fundraising and propaganda activities for the terrorist PKK, which is outlawed in Germany since 1993.

The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg ruled that Ayas was one of the key figures of the terror group in Germany, and was responsible for the PKK's activities in the western cities of Cologne and Hamburg between 2018 and 2020.

The 50-year-old was extradited from the Greek Cypriot administration in June, after his arrest there in March, upon a European arrest warrant issued by the German authorities as part of an anti-terrorism investigation.

The PKK has been on the EU’s terror groups list since 2002, and has been classified as an "ethno-nationalist" and "separatist" terrorist organization by the bloc’s police agency, EUROPOL.

Despite the ban, the group remains active in Germany with nearly 15,000 followers among the Kurdish immigrant population, according to the country’s domestic intelligence agency BfV.

Türkiye has long urged its NATO ally Germany to take stronger action against the PKK, stressing that the terrorist group uses the country as a platform for its illegal activities.

In its more 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people.