Remzi Kartal, the Kurdish politician and human rights defender for whom the Norwegian Council for the Rights of Kurdish People and the Human Rights House Foundation appealed last week, has been released from custody in Germany with guarantees that he will not be extradited to Turkey. Turkey initially requested both his arrest and subsequent extradition. Instead, Germany has bowed to the pressure of individuals, human rights groups and others who voiced their concern that Kartal may well suffer torture on his return. (02-MAR-05)
HRH received information of Kartal´s release shortly after midnight from John Zeki, a Norway-based campaigner for the rights of the Kurdish people. -It was Zeki who first alerted HRH to Kartal´s predicament and asked us to appeal on Kartal´s behalf, explains Niels Jacob Harbitz, project manager at HRH´s secretariat.
-A victory and a huge inspiration. Thanks.
In last night´s brief email to HRH, Zeki states that “this is a victory for justice and a huge inspiration in the struggle for human rights and solidarity. Kartal was arrested in Nürnberg, where he had gone to attend a seminar. His arrest was a response to an approach from Turkish authorities to their German counterparts to have Kartal arrested and then extradited. However, since it is well known that torture is still widely in use in Turkey, not the least against political oppositionals, an international campaign was launched to have Kartal released, and with guarantees of not being extradited. It is this campaign that has now been brought to a very successful conclusion. I wish to thank all who appealed for Kartal´s release for their support,” Zeki concluded.
