Kosovo acquits FETÖ suspect wanted by Turkey


A Kosovo court acquitted a suspect linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) Thursday and announced he would not be extradited to Turkey.

In a hearing, also attended by representatives of a Turkish diplomatic mission in Pristina, the court issued its verdict on Uğur Toksoy, who was detained in October in Prizren.

Speaking to the Associated Press (AP), prosecutor Ali Rexha said there was "no evidence" against Toksoy.

The suspect is associated with several organizations run by FETÖ in Kosovo and was wanted by Turkish authorities for participating in the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. FETÖ is accused of masterminding and executing the bloody coup attempt that killed 249 people through its infiltrators in the military. It runs a global network of companies and schools, and operates dozens of private schools, media outlets and companies.

Since the coup attempt, Ankara has worked tirelessly to locate FETÖ members worldwide, focusing primarily on its commercial entities.

European countries, which have also been accused of harboring supporters of other terrorist groups, have not responded to Ankara's extradition demands, unlike Arab and Asian countries that have carried out most of Ankara's requests.

The terrorist group, which has posed as a religious charity for years, has also been blamed for masterminding two coup attempts in 2013. Judicial authorities say the group used its infiltrators in the military, law enforcement, bureaucracy and judiciary to carry out its most recent coup attempt in July 2016.