Prosecutor’s office requests red notice for politician Osman Baydemir

Click to read the article in Turkish

In a written request, the Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has demanded that Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) former Urfa MP and former Diyarbakır Metropolitan Mayor Osman Baydemir be extradited to Turkey and a red notice be issued for the politician.

According to the request of the prosecutor's office, Osman Baydemir is currently in the United Kingdom (UK). Accordingly, the red notice form and the request for extradition have been sent to the Ministry of Justice to be referred to the relevant authorities in the UK.

It has also been indicated in the request that the Diyarbakır 3rd Heavy Penal Court has ruled for the arrest of Baydemir in his absence on charge of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" and that the offenses charged against him are not military or political.

Written request of the prosecutor's office

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), the written request of the Public Prosecutor reads as follows:

"Our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has been conducting an investigation against suspect Osman Baydemir on the alleged charge of being a member of an armed terrorist organization.

"I request the extradition of the suspect, who is indicated to be in your country, to Turkey so that the investigation can be finalized.

"If you need any additional information or documents for the decision of extradition, please give a suitable amount of time by also considering the time that the translation will take. I hereby would like to extend my most heartfelt respects and thank you in advance for your cooperation."

About Osman Baydemir

Former HDP MP, former Diyarbakır Mayor, politician. He is a member of the Diyarbakır Bar Association and Social Law Research Foundation as well as a founding member of the Migration and Humanitarian Aid Foundation and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV). He is the Co-Chair of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

He was born in 1971 in Turkey's Kurdish-majority Diyarbakır province. He graduated from the Dicle University Faculty of Law. He held senior positions in the Human Rights Association (İHD) Executive Board.

He was elected the Metropolitan Mayor of Diyarbakır from the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2009. After the DTP was closed, he became a member of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

As part of ongoing investigations, an international travel ban was imposed on Osman Baydemir on January 13, 2010. The Diyarbakır 6th Heavy Penal Court removed this ban on April 4, 2013.

In the Parliamentary election in June 2015, he was elected the Urfa MP of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

After the court of appeals upheld his 1 year, 5 months, 15 days prison sentence on charge of "insulting the police," he Osman Baydemir was stripped of MP status on April 19, 2018. (TP/SD)