KING'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
(Vice-President of the King's Bench Division)
- and
Mrs Justice Stacey DBE
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THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKIYE |
Appellant/ Requesting State |
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- and - |
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CIHAN DEMIR |
Respondent/ Requested Person |
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And Between: |
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ERDINC UCKAC AYKUT SAHIN |
Appellants/ Requested Persons |
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-and- |
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THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKIYE |
Respondent/ Requesting State |
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Edward Fitzgerald KC and Saoirse Townshend (instructed by Sonn McMillan Walker Ltd) on behalf of Mr Demir
Edward Fitzgerald KC and Benjamin Seifert (instructed by Stephen Fidler & Co) on behalf of Mr Uckac
Edward Fitzgerald KC and Graeme Hall (instructed by Birnberg Peirce Solicitors) on behalf of Mr Sahin
Hearing dates: 23rd & 24th July 2024
and applications to adduce further evidence and materials dated 6, 12, 15 and 16 August 2024
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Crown Copyright ©
Lord Justice Dingemans and Mrs Justice Stacey:
Introduction and issues
The factual background
Evidence about prison conditions in Türkiye
The Yalvac assurance
"In case said person is extradited to Türkiye, considering the offence group he belongs to, he will be placed in Yalvac T Type Closed Penal Institution, which fits his status. When placing him in a cell in the prison, his offence group and personal status shall be considered and, with the exception of transfers, made with the aim of protecting the safety of the inmates, such as transfers that are due to force majeure and rare transfers dur to discipline sanctions, enmity or blood feuds, covered by Article 56 of Law No. 5275, the person shall not be transferred to another prison without his consent."
Evidence about breaches of the Yalvac assurance
"It was understood that the letter announcing the extradition of Ender Ozbek from the United Kingdom to Turkiye on 14.02.20 did not reach, due to a technical problem, the relevant unit of our Directorate General, which is responsible and authorized for following the transfer procedures of the extradited convicts; therefore, our undertaking of guarantee could not be fulfilled. As can be recalled, the persons who were previously extradited from the United Kingdom (England) to Türkiye were placed, without delay, in Yalvac T Type Closed Prison as was guaranteed. Therefore, due to a technical problem specific to this case, the request for guarantee regarding the placement of the aforementioned person in Yalvac T Type Closed Prison could not be fulfilled."
Mr Demir
The judgment below in Demir
"Cihan Demir, a person over the age of 18 years, on 17 June 2011 at the Siesta Beach Apart Hotel in Bodrum, Gumbet, intentionally touched [the victim], the touching was sexual, [the victim] was aged under 16 years and Cihan Demir did not reasonably believe that she was of or over the age of 16 years and the touching involved the penetration of [the victim's] vagina with Cihan Demir's penis."
Mr Sahin
The judgment below on Mr Sahin
Mr Uckac
The judgment below on Mr Uckac
Whether the fresh evidence and materials adduced by the parties after the hearing should be admitted issue one
Whether there is a real risk that the rights of the requested persons under article 3 of the ECHR would be breached by reason of the conditions of the prisons in which they are likely to be held in Türkiye issue two
The extent to which there has been breach or compliance with the "Yalvac assurance" given by the requesting state in previous extradition cases and the effect of any breach of the assurances on the reliability of the Yalvac assurances in these appeals issue three
Whether this court should, at this stage of the proceedings, require further assurances from the requesting state issue four
Whether Mr Demir was sought for an extradition offence issue five
Whether the extradition of Mr Sahin would infringe his rights under article 8 of the ECHR issue six
Whether Mr Uckac should have permission to appeal on any of his three renewed grounds issue seven
Conclusion