France, Oct. 25 -- France has a history of granting political asylum to Kurdish nationalists from Turkey who risk prison and torture back home. But recent deportations of Kurdish activists show a growing rift between the French state and its judiciary. One of these deportations has since been ruled illegal on appeal.

In March and April, France deported three Kurdish activists to Turkey - Firaz Korkmaz, 24, Mehmet Kopal, 37 and Serhat Gultekin, 28.

All were suspected of having close ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been in conflict with the Turkish state for 40 years. France, along with its Western allies, considers the PKK a terrorist organisation.

TheKurds are a stateless people spread across the Middle East, with...