Turkey reacts to UK’s Ipek ruling

On 28^th November 2018, we reported that Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled that Hamdi Akin Ipek and his co-accused  Ali Celik and Talip Buyuk should not be extradited to Turkey. You can read our coverage of the decision here.

In his ruling, Judge John Zani, explained that he had “serious reservations about the current state of the Rule of Law in Turkey” and that “by reason of their actual or perceived political views” Mr Ipek, Mr Celik and Mr Buyuk would face a real risk of having their human rights breached if they were to be extradited to Turkey.

In response to the ruling, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hami Aksoy, explained that Turkish efforts to have Mr Ipek and his co-accused extradited will continue. In response to Judge Zani’s ruling, he stated:

“The reasoning of the Court to deny our extradition request is entirely unsubstantiated… It was strongly emphasized to the British authorities that the decision of the Westminster court, which refused the extradition of the accused to our country, was unacceptable and deeply disappointing.”

The Turkish government is expected to appeal against the ruling to the High Court.