The final arguments of two parties and the conclusion of the Kenan Ayas trial have come to pass. The representative of the Prosecution was content to repeat the German documents and the terrorism case for which the Kurdish political refugee is accused, without mentioning any criminal act that would justify his extradition.
For its part, the defence, invoking the ECHR, the UN Charter and the UN Guidelines on Refugees as well as the Protocol on the Protection of Victims of Non-armed Conflict, tried to prove that this was not a case of terrorism but a political prosecution that would lead to an unfair trial of Kenan Ayas. It recounted Kenan’s adventure inside Turkey until 2009, when he was forced to leave the country when the Turkish authorities launched an operation to arrest members of the KCK.
It is the position of the defence that the criminal proceedings against him are aimed at persecuting him for political reasons, therefore there is an obvious reason to prohibit the execution of his warrant, as it is aimed at political persecution because of his ethnic origin and pro-freedom activities. Precisely because of the belief that the requested person is being persecuted in Germany for political reasons, there is a serious risk that he will be extradited to Turkey in succession, where he risks being subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment and his life, freedom and physical integrity are at risk. The lawyer of Kenan Ayas noted that the Republic of Cyprus is obliged to continue to provide asylum to the wanted man on the basis of UN guidelines.
A final decision is expected on 19 April 2023.