The Stuttgart Appeal Court found that the 40-year-old had acted as the leader of the PKK in several cities in western Germany and had organised fund-raising campaigns for the Kurdish separatist movement.

He conceded the charges against him.

Another Turk accused of being one of the leaders in Europe of the PKK went on trial in Frankfurt, in western Germany, in November on charges of "belonging to a criminal organisation."

The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the European Union and the United States.

Its separatist struggle in southeastern Turkey has claimed nearly 37,000 lives since 1984.