Rzeszów court: Musa Dogan will not be extradited to Turkey

The Circuit Court in Rzeszów ruled that the Musa Dogan’s extradition to Turkey would be inadmissible, citing the risk of torture as one of the grounds for the decision.Musa Dogan is a Turkish Kurd. In 1996 he was sentenced to harsh life imprisonment by the State Security Court in Izmir. Later on, upon the abolishment of State Security Courts, his sentence was changed to a term of imprisonment which was subsequently upheld by the Turkish Supreme Court.

During his term in prison, Mr Dogan managed to get to Sweden where he was granted protection and leave for permanent residence. In addition, the Supreme Court of Sweden refused to surrender the Kurd to Turkey.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights prepared two briefs in the case. The first one commented on the human rights situation in Turkey and concluded that in the case of extraditing Mr Dogan to this country, there is a serious risk of a violation of his rights, including the freedom from torture. In the second brief the Foundation informed the court about the type of protection afforded to Mr Dogan in Sweden.