Cruise visitor to fight extradition
Celal Kildag and his wife leave the Cayman Islands courthouse
(CNS): A German national who arrived in Cayman on a cruise ship and arrested on an Interpol warrant on behalf of the Turkish authorities has confirmed that he will be fighting the extradition, after the court heard the governor had certified the request. Celal Kildag (58), who is accused by the Turkish government of terrorist offences, will return to court in February for a hearing in which he will be challenging the extradition. Laurence Ailofi of Samson McGrath, who is representing him, said the information from Turkey fell far short of the standard required to charge his client with the alleged offences.
Kildag, who is an ethnic Kurd, is accused of being a member of the Kurdish separatist group, the PKK, which the Turkish authorities say carried out killings and burned down schools in the eastern region of the country during the 1980’s and that Kildag was involved. He is accused of murder and arson.
Celal Kildag
However, he has denied the allegations and has stated that he was in Germany at the time these offences were committed after being granted political asylum in that country several years earlier. Kildag has stated that he has not returned to Turkey since he left in the early 1980’s and these offences were, according to the Turkish authorities, committed in April 1988. While the offences took place almost three decades ago, the Interpol warrant for Kildag’s arrest was not issued until November 2015 and it was executed when Kildag arrived in Cayman aboard a cruise ship that came here from Cuba.
It is not clear on what basis the governor signed the extradition request but the UK has a treaty with the authorities in Istanbul, despite the growing human rights infractions in Turkey under the current regime. It is understood that Turkey supplied the basic information required in such cases within the time frame under the law.
The case will now be decided by the local courts.
It is not clear if Turkey will send their own legal team to Cayman for the case, which has been set for 20 February, as Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards has confirmed that the Turkish authorities could ask the UK and Cayman authorities to assist in presenting the case for extradition in the face of the claims by Kildag that he can demonstrate his innocence as well as concerns that he could not receive a fair trial in his native country, especially after he received political asylum in Germany.
Such a bizarre case.
Did he travel direct from Germany to Cuba to board the ship?
Why would Cayman hold him if Germany, a major EU state, didn’t see it necessary?
Did he ran away from Germany to seek asylum in the islands?
There seems to be a lot more to this case than we know. If it was as clear as he’s stating, then why hold him?
I. Why did he travel direct from Germany to Cuba to Board a Ship. I imagine he was on holiday.
ii. Why would Cayman hold him if Germany, a major EU State did not see it necessary – that is a very good question. Are the Turks playing the system and hoping that a non EU country would treat this application less carefully?
iii. Did he an ran away from Germany to seek asylum in the Islands. No he is on holiday. he was granted Asylum in Germany and i believe has been a German National in the mean time. If you are granted Asylum you are free to travel.
Actually, Cayman is bound by the UKs obligations, which is (still at least) an EU state. That being said, it is not the EU that is the issue – its the UKs membership of INTERPOL and its bilateral extradition treaty with Turkey that’s the issue (which is clearly not the same as Germanys).
Sounds like he needs to ask for UK asylum on the same grounds he got it from Germany.
I can see right through this, this man has done nothing and we will pay for the lawsuit after. Turkey is one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to human rights.
Exactly!!!
This man faces certain execution and the British Government must realise this, yet it refuses to deport convicted murderers, rapists and other high risk criminals on the basis they may be persecuted in their country of origin.
He might be innocent….
Fight it yeh make these UK stooges pay the the Price$
idiot!