On Monday, the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg sentenced Kenan Ayaz to four years and three months in prison.
According to German law, the decision and its reasoning are expected to be published in the next 2-3 months, but there was no evidence against the Kurdish activist beyond the vague charge of participating in a ‘terrorist organisation’ (i.e. the PKK) and unrelated telecommunications data.
The responsibility now lies with the Cypriot government, which must request the implementation of the terms set by the Larnaca District Court in its extradition decision to Germany in April 2023. Specifically, that he serve his sentence in Cypriot prisons and not be extradited to Turkey.
The prosecution raised no objections to this, but the three-judge panel was particularly hostile towards the Kurdish activist.
Kenan has been recognised as a political refugee by the Republic of Cyprus since 2013, and his life is at risk in Turkey and its allied states, such as Germany.
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice should discuss with their German counterparts the immediate return of Kenan to Cyprus to serve his sentence here.
Any delay will only increase the already unbearable shame of extraditing a freedom fighter.
ΑΛ.ΜΙΧ.
