British judge blames Turkey's 'bad faith' in extradition: report

LONDON

Turkey has been condemned by a judge in Britain for pursuing an extradition request "in bad faith" against a British citizen over disputed terrorism charges, The Guardian reported.

The decision by district judge Shenagh Bayne at Westminster magistrates court to dismiss the request against Deniz Akgül as an "abuse of process" is likely to set a precedent for suspects from Kurdish ethnic backgrounds and may have diplomatic repercussions, according to the report.

The court discovered that Akgül had been convicted in his absence while extradition proceedings against him were still continuing.

The damning ruling concluded that: "There are reasonable grounds to believe that the Turkish authorities have acted in bad faith in respect of these proceedings and have gone to the extent of misleading this court … I am satisfied that conduct amounting to an abuse of the extradition process has occurred and I would not accede to the request to extradite as a result."

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