A Pre-trial procedure took place, for the examination of the appeal filed on Friday 21.04.23, by the defence counsel Efstathios Efstathiou, against the decision of the Larnaca District Court, dated 19/04/23.
The hearing of the appeal was scheduled for May 9, while the Supreme Court reserved its decision for May 16, after the completion of 25 days from the first instance decision. The District Court’s ruling approved the extradition of the Kurdish political refugee to Germany, with District Judge Michalis Papathanasiou accepting the documents of the German prosecution authorities and the suspicion of involvement in a terrorist organisation.
The appellant’s position remains that the situation between Turkey and the Kurds is considered an armed conflict and that there is no justification for considering a terrorism case against a man who has not been involved in any criminal act and no evidence has been presented to push in that direction. Moreover, as he testified before the Court, he was not a member of the PKK, which of course has no armed activity in Europe.