Romanian appeals court denies Turkey’s request for extradition of Erdoğan critic


Date posted: March 24, 2020

The Bucharest Court of Appeal has denied the extradition of educator Fatih Gürsoy on dubious terrorism charges brought by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and underlined the fact that the Lumina Educational Institutions “operates according to the Romanian law.”

Gürsoy, 50, is the general manager of Lumina schools in Romania. Lumina celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019, and its students have been offered places at prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton and MIT.

According to the court documents, copies of which were obtained by Nordic Monitor, the Bucharest Court of Appeal came to the conclusion that none of the charges leveled against Gürsoy were credible and that the purported evidence against him was not convincing. The documents also exposed that the representative of the Romanian Public Ministry had sought dismissal of the request for extradition during a hearing on December 24, 2019.

According to the documents, the request for the extradition of Gürsoy was based on an arrest warrant issued in absentia on January 12, 2018 by the Ankara 7th Criminal Court of Peace for “committing the crime of setting up or running an armed criminal terrorist group provided by article 314/1 of the Turkish Penal Code.” The Turkish court accused Gürsoy of setting up or running a supposedly terrorist organization — the Gülen movement — by using the ByLock application under a specific username. However, the Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled, in line with Article 24 of Romanian Law no. 302/2004, which regulates international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, that the offense of using the ByLock application as decided by the Turkish court is not defined as a crime by the relevant Romanian law.

The Gülen movement a civic group known for its investment in science education and the promotion of interfaith and intercultural dialogue around the world. The movement is led by Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, a US resident and an outspoken critic of the Turkish president for pervasive corruption in the government and Erdogan’s support for armed jihadist groups in Syria. Erdogan accuses the movement of being behind corruption investigations in 2013 and a coup attempt in July 2016, allegations the movement denies.

Source: Nordic Monitor , March 14, 2020


Related News

PACE concerned over lack of domestic remedy for purge victims in Turkey

Two rapporteurs for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Wednesday expressed concern at the apparent lack of an effective domestic remedy for persons who have been dismissed from their jobs, arrested or detained by the Turkish authorities.

I am the mastermind behind the failed Turkish coup attempt! I am Mr. Gulen’s secret ‘abi’

Need I say more? Someone please let Mr. Amsterdam know of my confession so the witch hunt can end. Let him know that it was I who brainwashed Gulen and corrupted all his followers, so they are innocent. Tell President Obama to extradite me. No further “evidences” are needed beyond what I have provided above and my own confession. Extradite me to Turkey as soon as possible so that the madness can end. I can’t take the guilt any longer.

Turkey’s once-worldly aims falter, even close allies concerned

Power appears to have gone to the prime minister’s head. Angling to become president in order to extend his rule, Erdogan is foolishly profiling and purging former friends in the Hizmet movement, recently firing hundreds of government employees who are allegedly (no one knows for sure as there’s no evidence) sympathetic to the movement’s founder, Fethullah Gulen

8.5-month pregnant woman under arrest though baby faces heart, kidney problems

With only days to go before the delivery, a Kayseri woman is still held under arrest even though her baby has heart and kidney problems. If she was not under arrest, the baby would have been treated before it was born.

Turkey tries to trap Obama with extradition demand [of Mr. Gülen]

But while U.S. agency spokesmen are trying to be cautious in what they say, skepticism about Turkey’s claims that Gulen directed the plot are widespread in Washington. Last week, in comments that likely burned a few ears in Ankara, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told The Washington Post that he did not believe Turkey had yet offered enough proof to implicate Gulen, who has lived in Pennsylvania’s Poconos region for years.

78 detained for raising money for post-coup purge victims

At least 78 people who are accused of raising money for post-coup purge victims were detained in an Antalya-based operation into the Gülen movement on Thursday.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Parallel state hunt makes McCarthyism look like child’s play

Young Peace Builders Honored

Bulgarian producer introduces his fourth documentary on Fethullah Gulen

Erdogan plotted purge before coup, say Brussels spies

Fethullah Gulen’s Message regarding Rumors Circulated in Turkish Media about a Second Coup Attempt

Toward the ‘Mubarak model’

AKP deputy calls on Turkey’s religious officials to declare Gülen followers apostates

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News