Extradition request for Turkish terror suspect refused
A three-member appeals court has rejected an extradition request by Turkish authorities for the extradition of a 60-year-old man that had been arrested in Athens, along with eight other fellow Turkish nationals, on terrorism charges shortly before the visit to Greece last December by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The court accepted that Mehmet Dogan, who is of Kurdish origin, has already been recognized by France as a political refugee.
The court accepted the proposal of prosecutor Efstathia Kapayianni who said that Dogan is a political refugee in accordance with the Geneva Treaty of 1951 which overrides the Greek constitution and does not allow his extradition to Turkey.
"Consequently, his return to Turkey, where it has already been deemed that his life will be in danger and that he will suffer torture and inhuman treatment, will not be allowed” she said.
The extradition request for another one of the suspects will be heard on Tuesday.
In December, a Greek court ordered the detention of nine Turkish citizens pending trial for terrorism-related offences, including links to a banned militant group behind a series of suicide bombings in Turkey.
