BELGRADE: Serbia has extradited to Turkey a Kur­dish political activist who had been seeking asylum, a police official said on Tues­day, defying a recommendation by the United Nations’ Committee against Torture.

Cevdet Ayaz requested asylum in Serbia earlier this year after fleeing Turkey, where he had been sentenced to 15 years in prison over alleged activities against the constitution, the Belgrade-based N1 TV quoted his lawyer Ana Trkulja as saying.

It also quoted her as saying that Ayaz had been extradited to Turkey on Monday and that his brother had been asked to contact a police station in Istanbul where he was being held.

The UN Committee agai­nst Torture (UNCAT) issued a recommendation on Dec 18 urging Belgrade to refr­ain from extraditing Ayaz.

The Serbian police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Serbian courts had ruled that all preconditions for the extradition had been met and that Justice Minister Nela Kuburovic had acted accordingly.

“The motion by the UN came after that (decision) ... The police only performed the extradition procedure,” the official said.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2017