Esra Kaymak
03 February 2017•Update: 04 February 2017
By Orhan
YOZGAT, Turkey
Turkey’s justice minister on Friday accused countries in receipt of documents on wanted terror suspects of not examining the files thoroughly.
Bekir Bozdag said the authorities in counties where PKK or Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) suspects resided had demanded evidence before extradition to Turkey but then failed to scrutinize the material supplied by Ankara.
"Everyone [countries where PKK or FETO militants reside] requires evidence but they don't examine any of the evidence that we send," Bozdag told reporters while visiting Yozgat province in central Turkey.
"There are files which they don't review. They try to create a public opinion that the extraditions don't take place because the Turks do not provide any evidence, information or files," he added.
Last September, Ankara asked the German authorities to find, arrest and hand over two high-profile FETO suspects: former prosecutors Zekeriya Oz and Celal Kara who fled Turkey in late 2013.
Oz and Kara played a key role in a controversial anti-corruption probe in late 2013 which targeted senior political figures in Turkey. Later, they were accused of fabricating evidence as part of a plot to overthrow the government.
The two men are thought to still be in Germany.
According to Bozdag, some Gulenists who staged the failed 15 July 2016 coup attempt are also seeking asylum in Germany despite Turkey's outstanding official extradition requests based on international treaties.
Although there had been some positive steps in the transfer of prisoners, Bozdag said none of the militants have been extradited yet.
"Rather, the German justice have made statements that the terrorists would not be extradited," Bozdag said.
Unlike extradition, a prisoner transfer involves a convict who is already been prosecuted and sentenced in Turkey but fled to a foreign country
Merkel visit
Bozdag's remarks came a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ankara, where she said Germany was working on Turkey’s expectations regarding the extradition of FETO fugitives.
During a joint news conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Merkel said Germany needs "to have proof to take steps and measures". She said German courts had been evaluating the latest evidence that Turkey sent.
Germany, which has a three-million-strong Turkish community, is also among the countries where FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, has a large network with dozens of private schools, businesses and media organizations. FETO is the mastermind behind the failed July 15 coup attempt, according to Turkey.
Besides the extradition request for FETO members, Ankara wants Berlin also to take action against the PKK terrorist group in Germany.
"The PKK is obtaining its finances as well as fighters through NGO-looking organizations established itself in Germany and makes its propaganda actively there," Bozdag said.
"In the past, we have provided information over this to Germany but no steps have been taken so far," he added.
As part of the extradition requests, Turkey also wants Washington to extradite Gulen from the U.S.
Despite several files and official requests, the U.S. says the process for extradition needs time and the approval of several federal and local legal authorities.
