| | | |
Following the ruling, which overturned previous court decisions that Kaplan would not get a fair trial in Turkey, German officials immediately issued a warrant for his arrest.
However, according to a spokesperson for the city of Cologne, where the cleric lives, officials had not yet been able to locate Kaplan.
In issuing its ruling, the court said that Kaplan did not face a significant probability of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment in Turkey, and so was not entitled to protection from extradition.
Kaplan is wanted in Turkey in connection with a plot to crash a plane laden with explosives into the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The planned 1998 attack, scheduled to take place on October 29, would have coincided with a ceremony to mark the founding of the Republic at which most of Turkey’s senior political and military leaders would have been at Atatürk’s tomb in Ankara.
The plot was uncovered by Turkish security forces and the attack averted only days before it was due to be launched.
Germany’s Interior Minister said he applauded the decision of the court.
“Today’s verdict is an important signal: for foreigners who represent a danger to the security and order of our nation, there is no place in Germany,” Interior Minister Otto Schily said in a written statement. | |
