Fréderike Geerdink
Under a lot of public attention, the hearing in the extradition case against Serdar Karakoç took place in the courthouse in Amsterdam. Germany had asked for Karakoç’s extradition to put him on trial for ‘terrorism’, even though he was never involved in violence. The lawyers expressed little hope that extradition can be stopped. The court will make a decision on 7 August.
Some 70 people showed up in solidarity but there was only space for 23 people in the small court room. At the end of the hearing, the judge told Karakoç to take a packed bag on 7 August, just in case the extradition would happen. Asked after the hearing what he is going to definitely put in his bag, Karakoç told Medya News: “Philosophy books. I am going to need them.”
Asylum
The judge started the hearing by stating that the content of the case was not on the table but only the legality of the extradition request. The defence, put forward by lawyer Dündar Gürses, tried to put forward that the ground mentioned in the extradition request, terrorism, couldn’t be applicable because of the non-violent activities in the investigation, like attending gatherings and fundraising. This contradiction rendered the request inadmissible, Gürses argued.
He also said that these activities are exactly what Turkey considers ‘terrorism’, and were ground for the Netherlands to grant Karakoç asylum almost a quarter of a century ago.
If the court doesn’t reject the extradition request, Gürses said, maybe the public prosecutor could consult with his German colleague about ways in which Karakoç could be available for German justice without being in pre-trial detention, for example by voluntarily testifying at the court and showing up for the court case.
Prison
For the public prosecutor, these reflections weren’t relevant though. He brought up Karakoç’s status as a recognised refugee in the Netherlands, stating that Germany had guaranteed Karakoç’s right to return to the Netherlands, adding that his right to stay in the Netherlands is guaranteed as well. In other words: if Karakoç is extradited and if he is convicted, he can serve his prison sentence in the Netherlands.
In Karakoç’s concluding words, granted to him by the judge, he reflected on the suppression of the Kurdish people in Turkey and Kurdistan, and how over the years that he travelled in Europe all kinds of political developments in the region didn’t turn out well for the Kurds, to say the least. He reflected on state violence, his identity as a journalist and nothing else, and what is considered to be ‘terrorism’ in Turkey – including doing journalism.
Crowd
After the hearing, which took an hour, Karakoç’s friends gathered at the square outside the courthouse. Some consternation occurred when a Turkish nationalist entered the scene making the fascist Grey Wolves sign with both hands, but he was soon shoved aside. After Karakoç thanked the friends for showing up in support, his German lawyer, Yener Sözer, spoke to the crowd, which were holding up signs saying ‘Journalism is not a crime’. He informed the people that in previous cases, in which Germany requested the extradition of Kurds within the European Union, the requests were complied with. The chance that it’s different for Serdar Karakoç, is negligible.
