France Extradites PKK Kidnap Suspect To Germany

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published November 13, 2018 | 07:20 PM

France has extradited to Germany a suspected member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) accused in the kidnapping and beating of a PKK defector, German prosecutors said Tuesday.

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Nov, 2018 ) :France has extradited to Germany a suspected member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) accused in the kidnapping and beating of a PKK defector, German prosecutors said Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Turkish citizen, named only as Ozkan T., who was arrested in France in July, has been charged with deprivation of liberty, assault and coercion.

German police in June arrested four other PKK suspects -- identified as Veysel S., Agit K., Cihan A. and their female companion Evrim A. -- who were allegedly involved in the kidnapping.

The group allegedly abducted the man in April near the German city of Stuttgart and assaulted and threatened to kill him if he did not rejoin the militant group.

The PKK has waged a three-and-a-half decade insurgency against the Turkish state seeking independence, and more recently autonomy, for Turkey's Kurdish minority.

The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and continues since the PKK halted a ceasefire in 2015.

The PKK is classified as a "terrorist" group by Ankara and its Western allies.