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Dutch court blocks extradition of PKK
leader to Turkey 16.9.2006
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The Hague,
September 15, -- The top court in the Netherlands on
Friday blocked the extradition to Turkey of a leader
of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Nuriye
Kesbir, saying that she could face torture there.
"Kesbir cannot be extradited to Turkey," the Dutch
Supreme Court said in a statement on its website.
"If Turkey makes new promises with more solid
guarantees that Kesbir will be treated properly
after extradition this ban could be lifted," the
court's spokeswoman Eveline Hartogs told AFP.
"Turkey's guarantees (that Kesbir would not be
tortured) were too general," Kesbir's lawyer Jacques
Sluysmans said.
He added that his client was relieved by the ruling.
"Guaranteeing her a fair trail and saying measures
will be taken to ensure she will not be
mistreated... in line with international treaties...
is not sufficiently specific... for a person like
Mrs. Kesbir," Sluysmans added. |
Nuriye Kesbir |
"On a state level such a consensus exists but how
can they prevent her from falling victim to
vindictive actions by individual police officers or
prison wardens?"
The PKK has fought for Kurdish self-rule in
southeast Turkey since 1984. It called off a
five-year unilateral ceasefire in June 2004.
Kesbir, as PKK leader, worked alongside Osman Ocalan,
the brother of former PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan who
has been serving a life sentence in Turkey since
1999.
She is accused by Turkey of taking part in at least
25 attacks in eastern Turkey between 1993 and 1995.
She denies any involvement in the attacks and claims
she dealt only with the women's issues as a member
of the PKK's presidential council.
Kesbir was arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport
in September 2001. She has tried to apply for
political asylum but her demand was rejected so
technically she is residing in the Netherlands
illegally.
In September 2004 Dutch Justice Minister Piet Hein
Donner authorized her extradition, saying on the
basis of assurances from Ankara that Kesbir would
get a fair trial in line with international law.
Kesbir appealed the extradition saying that she
faced torture and would not get a fair trial. She
was released in January 2005 after an appeals court
decided that there was "a discrepancy in what the
Turkish government wants and what happens on a lower
level in police stations and prisons".
The justice ministry had appealed this ruling to the
Supreme Court but it upheld the ban. The ministry
could not be reached for comment Friday.
Last week the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture released a report saying that
although abuse of prisoners is on the decline in
Turkey it remains a problem, particularly in police
stations.
The committee also remarked that the tightening of
the legal protection for prisoners in custody had
led to an increase in abuse carried out in isolated
locations outside of police stations and prisons.
AFP
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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