Dozens of people on Thursday held a demonstration in front of the supreme court in Nicosia to protest the upcoming extradition of Kurdish activist Kenan Ayaz to Germany.
Ayaz was arrested on March 15 at Larnaca airport on accusations of international terrorism.
His extradition was approved by the Larnaca district court on Wednesday.
Protesters at the demonstration shouted slogans and held placards slamming the Cyprus judiciary, claiming Ayaz’s extradition to Germany “would mean his extradition to Turkey at the same time.”
Throughout the past month, in fact, several supporters of the activist hinted that his extradition to Germany would pave the way for a further extradition to Turkey, considering the existing cooperation between the two countries.
While reading the verdict on Wednesday, the president of the Larnaca district court Michalis Papathanasiou said that “no evidence presented before the court pointed to a further extradition of Ayaz to Turkey from Germany.”
Papathanasiou also added that, given the activist’s concerns, the Larnaca court requested Germany not to proceed with a further extradition to Turkey.
Ayaz has been living in Cyprus for ten years as a political refugee.
According to Kurdish cultural organisation “Theophilos”, since 2017 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has given Germany a list of almost 4,000 names his administration considers Kurdish terrorists.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Mail
Source
