Germany implores Spain not to send arrested author Akhanli to Turkey

dpa-AFX International
 Saturday 10:58 PM GMT
Germany implores Spain not to send arrested author Akhanli to Turkey
By dpa correspondents Berlin (dpa) - Spain received an entreaty from
Germany late Saturday not to extradite a German author of Turkish
heritage to Turkey and to take part in extradition proceedings. German
Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called his Spanish counterpart Alfonso
Dastis on Saturday evening to discuss the case, the Foreign Office in
Berlin. Gabriel also requested the quickest consular support possible
for Dogan Akhanli, who was arrested Saturday morning at the behest of
Turkey.
Akhanli was on vacation in Granada, Spain, at the time of the arrest,
his lawyer told dpa, though it is unclear what he was accused of.
Spanish police, who also said the detention request came from Turkey,
told local media that Akhanli would be handed over to authorities.
Akhanli's lawyer, Ilias Uyar, told a German newspaper that
international police organization Interpol had issued a red notice -
an arrest request - for the author. A red notice can come from a
member country or an international tribunal, but Interpol countries
are not obligated to take a flagged individual into custody. Akhanli
has written extensively about the Armenian genocide, and the arrest
was meant as the latest shot in the ongoing spat between Turkey and
Germany, according to Spiegel, citing security sources. The PEN
writer's association said the arrest was 'clearly politically
motivated,' and the head of the group's German branch, Sascha
Feuchert, called on Spain not to extradite Akhanli to Turkey. Akhanli,
a German citizen, has been living in Germany since he fled Turkey in
1991. Akhanli was cleared in absentia by a Turkish court in 2011 after
being wanted for robbery and homicide since 1989. His exoneration was
later overturned by a higher court, which claimed he had links to
terrorists.