Top German court halts extradition to Turkey of PKK man

Jan 22, 2010, 13:56 GMT

Karlsruhe, Germany - Germany's top court has stopped the extradition of an alleged Kurdish rebel to Turkey, ruling that life imprisonment without parole was a cruel and inhumane punishment, according to a verdict published Friday.

The 38-year-old man, who is in German pre-extradition custody, is accused of being a regional chief in Turkey of the underground Kurdish Workers Party PKK and ordering a bomb attack in 1999 that killed two and wounded 14 people.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said it was unconstitutional for German officials to cooperate in Turkish attempts to send the man to jail for the rest of his days. Germany paroles many life sentences after 15 years in detention.

The German constitution bans punishments which are 'cruel, inhumane or humiliating.' The ruling was issued January 13 but not communicated to the media till Friday, after it had been written up by staff.

Turkey wants the accused for allegedly organizing a bombing in eastern Anatolia in April 1999. It says he ran the Marxist PKK in the Erzurum region. The charges would allow him to receive a 'weighty' sentence, meaning one that blocks parole.

A German state appeal court had earlier okayed the extradition, but has now been overruled by the federal court, which said a 'weighty' sentence could only be waived in Turkey if a prisoner was frail or terminally ill.

The case was referred back to the state appeals court which must consider whether the accused has any prospect of release and resuming a law-abiding life. His lawyer said he left the PKK in 2001 and denies any part in the bombing.