Turkey seeks extradition of terrorist from the Netherlands amid row
As relations with the Netherlands remain strained, Turkey prepares to request the extradition of a senior militant from the terrorist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) group.
Seher Demir Şen, wanted by both Turkey and the United States, which also designates DHKP-C as a terrorist group, is accused of being one of the planners of a 2013 suicide bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Ankara. A Turkish security guard was killed in the attack. Şen is among three suspected senior DHKP-C militants wanted by the United States.
A Turkish government official who spoke to the Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity said security officials determined that Şen had recently made her way to the Netherlands from Greece and preparations were underway for a formal request for her extradition.
Turkey and the Netherlands have recently engaged in a bitter row over mistreatment of Turkish citizens in the Netherlands and the deportation of a Turkish minister from the country. Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was not allowed to address Turkish citizens in the Netherlands and was deported from the country, while a group of Turkish protesters denouncing the decision were violently dispersed by police in Rotterdam, to the chagrin of Ankara, which issued a strong condemnation.
The DHKP-C, although less influential in Turkey than other terrorist organizations, such as the PKK, still represents a considerable threat to the country with a string of attacks in recent years. Apart from the U.S. Embassy attack, the group was behind the killing of prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz in an Istanbul courthouse complex in March 2015.
The DHKP-C was founded in 1978 and was most active during the Cold War era. Purportedly supporting a Marxist-Leninist ideology, the group has renewed its attacks in recent years. It is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the U.S. Still, it enjoys relative freedom in European countries such as Greece where DHKP-C militants avoid prosecution by claiming they are politically persecuted in Turkey. Several militants plotting attacks in Turkey were captured after infiltrating the country following their release by Greek courts.
Seher Demir Şen, wanted by both Turkey and the United States, which also designates DHKP-C as a terrorist group, is accused of being one of the planners of a 2013 suicide bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Ankara. A Turkish security guard was killed in the attack. Şen is among three suspected senior DHKP-C militants wanted by the United States.
A Turkish government official who spoke to the Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity said security officials determined that Şen had recently made her way to the Netherlands from Greece and preparations were underway for a formal request for her extradition.
Turkey and the Netherlands have recently engaged in a bitter row over mistreatment of Turkish citizens in the Netherlands and the deportation of a Turkish minister from the country. Minister of Family and Social Policies Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya was not allowed to address Turkish citizens in the Netherlands and was deported from the country, while a group of Turkish protesters denouncing the decision were violently dispersed by police in Rotterdam, to the chagrin of Ankara, which issued a strong condemnation.
The DHKP-C, although less influential in Turkey than other terrorist organizations, such as the PKK, still represents a considerable threat to the country with a string of attacks in recent years. Apart from the U.S. Embassy attack, the group was behind the killing of prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz in an Istanbul courthouse complex in March 2015.
The DHKP-C was founded in 1978 and was most active during the Cold War era. Purportedly supporting a Marxist-Leninist ideology, the group has renewed its attacks in recent years. It is listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the U.S. Still, it enjoys relative freedom in European countries such as Greece where DHKP-C militants avoid prosecution by claiming they are politically persecuted in Turkey. Several militants plotting attacks in Turkey were captured after infiltrating the country following their release by Greek courts.