Turkish forensic authorities say no sign imprisoned Kurdish rebel chief being poisoned

Turkish authorities said on Monday that tests on the imprisoned Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan showed no signs he was being poisoned, despite allegations by his lawyers.

The government had already denied the allegations but ordered the tests on samples of Ocalan's hair, urine and skin to calm his supporters, who have been staging violent protests and demanding a detailed medical examination.

"From now on, nobody should go after such lies," Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, who also serves as the government spokesman, told a news conference. "No one should take such games seriously. Turkey is a state of law and Turkey has nothing to hide."

It was not clear whether the findings would satisfy Ocalan's supporters and his separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which regards him as the ultimate leader. His lawyers in Turkey called for an investigation by an independent group of doctors and for testing at "a laboratory with sufficient technical equipment."

Ocalan's lawyers in Italy had said that an analysis of his hair showed large amounts of strontium and chromium, both of which are toxic in high doses. It was not clear how the lawyers acquired the samples or what prompted the analysis, though Ocalan's lawyers frequently complain about his conditions in confinement.

Turkey's government called the poisoning allegations "complete lies."

"It has been determined that allegations of poisoning were definitely baseless," Ahmet Er, a prosecutor in the western city of Bursa _ close to Ocalan's prison island of Imrali _ read from a forensic report Monday.

Ocalan, 58, remains an influential figure for many of Turkey's disaffected Kurds, and an object of intense hatred for many Turks.

He was initially sentenced to death after his capture in 1999, but his sentence was commuted to life in prison after Turkey abolished capital punishment in 2002. He is the sole inmate on Imrali, in the Marmara Sea off Istanbul.

The PKK has waged war for autonomy in Turkey's southeast since 1984. The group often stages cross-border attacks from bases in neighboring Iraq and operates small bands of rebels inside Turkey.

Turkey's military has threatened military action against guerrillas holed up in Iraq's border areas.

The United States has repeatedly warned Turkey not to take any unilateral military action, fearing that such a move could spark problems between Iraqi Kurds and Turkey, both U.S. allies, and destabilize northern Iraq.