Prosecutor: Extradite Turkish drug trafficker, despite political unrest

The Public Prosecutor is in favor of extraditing Turkish drug smuggler Ayhan S. back to his home country, despite the political unrest currently going on in the country, he said in the court in Amsterdam on Thursday, ANP reports.

A recent attempted coup led to increasing unrest in Turkey and gave rise to concerns about human rights and justice in the country. After the coup judges and prosecutors, among others, were arrested after the coup and parts of the Human Rights Convention were violated.

The Public Prosecutor acknowledged this, but pointed out that S. was already convicted in Istanbul in 2007 and sentenced to 9 years and 2 months in prison for smuggling ecstasy. This means that his legal process is over, so he will not be subject to the concerning system. This means that his extradition is permissible, the prosecutor said.

This does not mean that S. will immediately be extradited. The final decision lies with Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice.

S.'s lawyer, Bart van Tuinen, thinks that his clients extradition should be suspended, given recent events in Turkey. He also points out that the already overcrowded prisons in Turkey is sure to be even worse now given the many arrests after the failed coup.

The court will rule on this matter on August 18th.