Supreme Court rules for extradition of Erdogan’s foe to Turkey
The Supreme Court of Greece announced its decision on Wednesday to extradite 54-year-old Ali Yesildag to Turkey. The Turkish national had close family and professional ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before accusing Erdogan of corruption involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
Following a recent hearing, the Supreme Court dismissed the fugitive’s appeal against extradition to Turkey, satisfying a request from the neighboring country.
For more than 40 years, Ali Yesildag and his two brothers maintained close family and professional ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, in 2023, amidst a breakdown of his relationship with both his brothers and the Turkish president, Yesildag publicly denounced Erdogan for corruption via a YouTube video. His public denunciations caused political turmoil in the neighboring country, with opposition parties calling for clarification.
In mid-November 2023, Greek border guards spotted the 54-year-old businessman in a rural area of Feres, northeastern Greece, having illegally crossed the Greek-Turkish border. Greek police officers found that he had a pending Turkish Interpol warrant against him for robbery and homicide allegedly committed in 1986 when he was 17 years old.
The court’s decision on Yesildag’s extradition is pending approval by Justice Minister George Floridis.
The fugitive and his family are allegedly contemplating the possibility of filing another appeal to the Council of State against the ministerial decision for extradition.
