Testimony was given to support Kenan’s non-consensual extradition to Germany. Ayas’s testimony contained historic references as well as references to suspicious dealings between Germany and Turkey to extradite, arrest and hand over Kurdish fighters who had taken refuge in Europe. Evidence of Kenan’s political activity were submitted, including speeches at Hamburg University and on the Kurdish channel ‘Medya Haber’. The trial transcripts of the Diyapbakir Criminal Court (09/2022) on the basis of which the Turkish arrest warrant for Ayias remains in force, and on the basis of which the European arrest warrant was issued, were also submitted. Within the transcripts, names of Kurdish politicians wanted by the Turkish state without evidence of criminal acts, are referred. Also important is the documentary evidence concerning a meeting between the Federal Prosecutor General of Germany and the Turkish President, 5-7 July 2022, where the strengthening of legal cooperation between Germany and Turkey was discussed. This was followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on legal issues and an intensified search for Kurdish fighters.
The position of the Defence through Kenan’s testimony is that since there is an armed conflict in Turkey there can be no basis for using the anti-terrorism law against the Kurds. Kenan denied that he is a member of the PKK, stressing that the PKK is not active in European cities. The position of the defence is that the persecution of Ayas is political, as demonstrated by the general authorisation of the German Minister of Justice (2011) to arrest, without a warrant, Kurds with political activity.