Dozens gathered on Thursday in front of the Supreme Court building in Nicosia to protest a decision to extradite Kurdish politician Kenan Ayaz to Germany.
The protest was called by the Kurdish cultural organisation “Theophilos” and started at 11 am.
Ayaz, 49, who has been living in Cyprus for the past ten years as a political refugee, was arrested at Larnaca International Airport on March 15 on charges of international terrorism.
His extradition was approved by the Larnaca district court on Wednesday and it will be carried out within ten days. It is feared that it will pave the way for further extradition to Turkey.
The Cypriot Kurdish Solidarity Organisation (Kksa), which has called for more protests on April 21 and 22, urged Cyprus authorities to “take the lead in removing the PKK from the list of terrorist organisations” to avoid situations like Ayaz’s.
In a statement on Thursday, it said that his “persecution is in fact political and stems from Turkey’s demands on its NATO partners.”
In its ruling, the Larnaca court has requested Germany not to proceed with further extradition to Turkey. If Ayaz is, indeed, convicted in Germany, the custodial sentence against him should be served in Cyprus, the court asked.
With regard to this provision, Kksa stated that “there is no assurance from the German authorities that it will be respected.
“The time frame is very tight and there is a real danger that this politician, who is being pursued by Turkey and who is supposed to be protected by political asylum in Cyprus, will wind up in Turkish prisons,” it added.
Since 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has given Germany a list of almost 4,000 names his administration considers Kurdish terrorists.
In late March, the Turkish parliament voted to approve a bill to allow Finland to join NATO.
Finland and Sweden had asked to join the transatlantic military alliance last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the process was held up by Turkey and Hungary, with the neighbouring country being the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland’s membership.
In exchange, Turkey demanded the extradition of persons it classifies as terrorist suspects (often Kurdish opponents) by Nato allies.
Sweden’s ascendance to Nato still faces opposition from Ankara over claims it is harbouring what it considers members of terrorist groups.
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Kurdish political activist Ayaz to be extradited to Germany within 10 days
