2.2 On 19 March 1995, the complainant was arrested with seven others, for reasons unspecified, and detained for 15 days. During this time he claims to have been subjected to torture on several occasions, which left scars on his back and left leg.b 2.3 On 10 May 1997, the complainant was arrested by four policemen whilst on his way to a meeting of the Turkish Human Rights Association (IHD). He was blindfolded and taken to a field, where the policemen threatened to kill him if he did not become a police informer and provided them with names of PKK, ERNK and HADEP sympathizers. The complainant was frightened and agreed to cooperate, upon which he was released. He then went into hiding, and fled to Istanbul on 14 May 1997. From there, he left Turkey for the Netherlands on 29 May 1997, with a false passport. 2.4 After arriving in the Netherlands, the complainant learned from his father that the authorities had been looking for him, that the family house was under police observation, and that his father had been questioned by the police about his son’s whereabouts on several occasions.c He also learned that the police had asked his father in writing for information about his son’s whereabouts. 2.5 On 29 May 1997, the complainant applied for asylum in the Netherlands. This was rejected by the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice on 13 August 1997. On 25 August 1997, the complainant requested the Secretary of Justice to review his decision, but this was declined on 29 September 1997. An appeal against the refusal of the Secretary to grant asylum was dismissed by the District Court of The Hague on 23 July 1998. Thereafter, the complainant left the Netherlands for Denmark,d and applied for asylum in that country.e 2.6 The complainant left Denmark on 14 February 1999 and returned to the Netherlands on 15 February 1999. Shortly afterwards,f he participated in a demonstration against the role of the Greek Government in the arrest of Abdullah Ocalan, resulting in the occupation of the Greek ambassador’s residence in The Hague by approximately 200 Kurds, including the complainant. The occupation received considerable international attention. The Turkish media described the occupation as a “PKK activity”, and labelled the participants as “terrorists”. After the occupation ended, the complainant was arrested in connection with his involvement in the occupation, and on 20 February 1999, he was placed in alien detention, and subsequently prosecuted.g 2.7 On 23 February 1999, whilst in alien detention, the complainant filed a second application for asylum with the Dutch authorities. On 19 March 1999, the Secretary of Justice held the application for asylum to be inadmissible.h An appeal from this decision to the District Court of The Hague was rejected on 7 May 1999. 2.8 The complainant claims that, in addition to his participation in the occupation of the Greek ambassador’s residence in The Hague, he participated in other Kurdish political activities. In the Netherlands he took part in: meetings in The Hague and in Arnhem in 1997;i a “celebration” on 15 August 1997 in Middelburg; the “Newroz celebration” on 21 March 1998 in Middelburg; the International Labour Day celebration on 1 May 1998 in Rotterdam; and the “Mazlum Dogan” Youth festivals in 1998 in several Dutch cities. In Denmark, he participated in meetings in Copenhagen where unspecified leaflets were handed out, and in what he describes as “different ‘Abdullah Ocalan related’ activities”.j He also refers to his participation in several “Kurdish activities” in Germany, France and Belgium. 116