Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Eugene

(61,595 posts)
Mon May 20, 2019, 06:48 PM May 2019

Turkey seeks extradition of UK barrister over Twitter activity

Source: The Guardian

Turkey seeks extradition of UK barrister over Twitter activity

Ozcan Keles accused of spreading propaganda, in latest targeting of Erdoğan critics

Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
Mon 20 May 2019 18.56 BST Last modified on Mon 20 May 2019 19.44 BST

A British barrister who has given evidence to parliament is facing possible extradition to Turkey on terrorism charges over his Twitter activity.

Ozcan Keles, who is of Turkish descent and holds UK citizenship, appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Monday accused of spreading propaganda online.

The attempt to remove him is the latest in a series of high-profile extradition actions in the British courts against critics or opponents of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

All cases to date have been thrown out on the grounds that they are politically motivated or that Turkey’s prison system breaches human rights. The most recent involved a media proprietor, Hamdi Akın İpek.

The Home Office has a duty to certify that extradition requests are legitimate, but has rubber-stamped a stream of Turkish claims that involve the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the courts in lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful actions.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/may/20/british-barrister-facing-extradition-to-turkey-over-tweets
Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Foreign Affairs»Turkey seeks extradition ...