The Greek authorities say that a group of more than 150 Kurdish refugees have been found on a deserted islet in the Aegean Sea after they were abandoned there by smugglers.

The group, which includes 65 children, landed on the small island of Armathia after apparently being left to swim to shore by smugglers aboard a Syrian trawler which had run into difficulties.

They raised a Kurdish flag and ignored demands by the local Greek maritime authorities to leave.

Like thousands of other Kurdish refugees who pay smugglers to help them cross illegally into Greece, this group is now asking for political asylum.

Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan

Their allegiance is to the Kurdish rebel group the PKK and many were carrying pictures of its leader, Abdullah Ocalan. He was detained in Italy two weeks ago and has become the centre of a political row over attempts to bring him to trial in Turkey.

Greece has up until now been wary of stepping into the extradition row between Turkey and Italy, perhaps fearing to aggravate the many on-going disputes between Athens and Ankara.

But today the Greek Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, said Italy should grant political asylum to the rebel leader and that threats of a Turkish trade boycott of Italian goods were blackmail.

Turkey has often accused Greece of helping the Kurdish rebels and the Turkish press is currently repeating allegations from a former PKK commander captured by the security forces that Greece supplied the Kurdish rebels with Stinger ground-to-air missiles.