Ankara to seek extradition of coup suspect from Germany

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA

A Turkish court is seeking the extradition from Germany of a top suspect in last year’s defeated coup, according to judicial sources.

The fourth criminal court in the capital Ankara on Tuesday asked the Justice Ministry to file an extradition request for Adil Oksuz, an alleged key coup-plotter said to have applied for asylum in Germany, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Oksuz, a professor charged by Turkish authorities with being an influential figure within the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind last year’s coup attempt, is said to be among the masterminds in the July 15, 2016 coup bid.

He was arrested in Turkey on the morning of July 16 but was subsequently released and has since disappeared.

Several newspapers claimed Oksuz had been seen in the German cities of Frankfurt and Ulm this February.

Yeni Safak daily also reported last week that Oksuz had applied for asylum in the southern German state of Baden-Wurttemberg.

Ankara has informed German authorities that Oksuz is one of the prime suspects in the defeated coup attempt and an international fugitive.

The Turkish side has pressed German authorities to investigate the claims made in recent media reports and, if these prove true, take necessary measures to arrest Oksuz and send him to Turkey for trial.

German Foreign Ministry sources have said they have no indication that Oksuz was in Germany.

The FETO coup attempt left behind 250 martyrs and some 2,200 people injured.