Suspected Turkish drug trafficker to be extradited to Turkey

Netherlands and Turkey flag pins

The Netherlands can extradite a man wanted in Turkey for drug smuggling, judges in The Hague decided on Friday.

Turkey had been asking for the extradition of the man, who was arrested on Dutch soil, since 2012. Osman A. is accused of drug trafficking between the Netherlands and Turkey and is also wanted there for being a member of a criminal organisation.

A has been resisting extradition because he is afraid he will not get a fair trial and that his human rights will be violated. He also thinks a Turkish prison will not provide the treatment he needs for the psychological problems he claims he is suffering from, the NRC said.

However, a court in The Hague has now decided the Turkish authorities have provided sufficient guarantees to safeguard the judicial process. The suspect will be also be allowed to petition to serve his sentence in a Dutch prison.

The Netherlands stopped sending people back to Turkey in the wake of the attempted coup on July 15, 2016 but resumed them last month.

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