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THE
HAGUE (AFP) - A Dutch court of appeals confirmed
a ruling that Nuriye Kesbir, a senior member
of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK),
could not be extradited to Turkey where she might be
tortured.
"The court is of the opinion that Kesbir as a woman
and as a prominent member of the PKK has a
heightened risk of being tortured during her
detention in Turkey," the court said in a statement
Thursday.
Turkey accuses Kesbir of being behind at least 25
attacks between 1993 and 1995 on military targets in
eastern Turkey, where the PKK party is fighting for
Kurdish self-rule. It has asked the Dutch ministry
of justice to extradite her.
The ministry decided she could be extradited after
Turkish assurances that Kesbir would get a fair
trial but that decision was succesfully blocked in
court last November.
The court said Thursday that although Turkey had
made important improvements on human rights issues
"torture is not yet in the past".
"Apparently there is a discrepancy between what the
Turkish government wants and what happens on a lower
level in prisons and police stations," the judges
said.
The verdict was not an all out victory for Kesbir as
the court noted that she could be extradited "if the
Turkish government gives concrete assurances that it
will see to it that Kesbir will not be tortured".
Up to now Ankara has only given general assurances
that she would receive a fair trial.
The PKK leader has always denied being involved in
the attacks and claims she dealt only with women's
issues as a member of the group's presidential
council before she was arrested at Amsterdam airport
in September 2001.
She has tried to apply for political asylum in the
Netherlands arguing that she will face an unfair
trial and might be tortured if she returns to
Turkey, but her application was rejected.
The PKK, now also known as KONGRA-GEL, waged a
15-year war for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish
eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey before
announcing a unilateral ceasefire in 1999.
The group called off the truce in June last year,
threatening to carry out attacks and warning
tourists and investors to stay away from the
country.
Since then, there has been a sharp increase in
clashes between the rebels and government troops.
Both the government and Kesbir have eight weeks to
decide whether or not to appeal the latest decision
before the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.
AFP
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