The decision whether Kurdish political refugee Kenan Ayaz for whom German authorities requested his extradition should be taken within 35 days since his arrest, according to a ruling by a Nicosia district court.
The same court on Tuesday also renewed the detention of the Kurdish intellectual who was arrested on March 15 at Larnaca airport till Friday when the next trial hearing is scheduled.
Ayaz, 48, has been living in Cyprus for 10 years as a political refugee and was about to board a flight when he got arrested. He is facing accusations of international terrorism stemming from Germany.
Should the court in Cyprus approve Ayaz’s extradition request to Germany, he will likely be sent from there to Turkey where he is set to face a very long prison sentence.
On Friday, Ayaz’z defense lawyer Efstathios Efstathiou will have to study his client’s file which was originally at the Asylum Service and transferred to the Legal Service. No one seems to know where it is at the moment, Philenews reports citing insiders.
Efstathiou will again raise a new objection to the request for Ayaz’s further detention.
Kurds living in Cyprus on Monday protested outside the Justice Ministry in Nicosia to protest the ongoing trial.
They were holding banners reading “Kenan is not a terrorist, he is a democrat” and “Cyprus, stop extraditions of Kurds”. The protesters demanded Ayaz’s immediate release.
