He was forced out of his group's base in Syria, following pressure from Turkey, in November 1998. He fled to Russia and then Europe, he was arrested after arriving from Moscow at Rome's Fiumicino Airport. He was soon released while he appealed for political asylum, Italian law forbids the extradition of someone to a country where they would face a death sentence. An extradition request from Germany also collapsed amid political maneuvering. He left Italy on January 16, 1999 and returned to Russia but soon left for Greece, apparently intending to fly from there to The Hague. He was refused entry to a number of European states and instead, on February 3 the Greek authorities flew him to Nairobi, Kenya.