Greece rejects extradition request for another DHKP-C terrorist

A Greek court on Tuesday rejected Turkey's extradition request for a member of the terrorist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), according to Greek ANA-MPA news agency.

Ali Ercan Gökoğlu of DHKP-C was arrested last November in Athens and has since been jailed pending trial.

Before the decision of Larissa Appeals Court on Gökoğlu, the prosecution argued that the suspect should not be extradited because "there is no guarantee for fair trial," it was reported.

Gökoğlu's arrest along with eight others came days before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Athens for an official visit.

The nine suspects were remanded in custody for "possessing weapons and explosives," "being members of a terrorist organization" and "possessing forged documents."

The Greek Appeals Courts has also denied extradition requests for the other DHKP-C members, Hasan Biber, Hazal Seçer, Mehmet Doğan, and Şadi Naci Özpolat among them.

Greek media outlets reported that the suspects, including one who was granted political asylum in France, were planning to launch an attack on Erdoğan's motorcade during his December visit to Athens.

Biber is believed to be one of the perpetrators of the twin bombing in 2013 that targeted the Justice Ministry and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters in Ankara.

The DHKP-C is an offshoot of a Marxist-Leninist movement that was established in the 1970s. The organization was founded in the 1990s after it splintered from a larger group of far-left organizations responsible for a string of attacks. It kept a relatively low profile for many years, but in 2013, a DHKP-C militant carried out a suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy compound in Ankara, killing a Turkish security guard.