A group of non-governmental organizations on Tuesday (February 27) called on the Greek government to reject Ankara's extradition request for Turkish asylum seeker, Ali Yesildag, who previously accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of corruption.

In a joint statement, the Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR) and four other refugee rights agencies said: "The life of businessman Ali Yesildag is in danger" in Turkey and he risks a life sentence over charges of "participating in an armed extremist organisation."

The group called on the Greek justice minister "to protect the life of Ali Yesildag... in accordance with fundamental legal guarantees and international law, and to reject the Turkish state's request."

Yesildag applied for political asylum in Greece in November 2023 after he was arrested by Greek police close to the Turkish border. However, last week Greece's Supreme Court ruled in favour of his extradition.

In their statement, the NGOs criticized the ruling, stating: "Unfortunately, neither the obvious political dimension of the persecution of Ali Yesildag, nor the immediate danger to his fundamental rights in case of extradition have weighed on the Supreme Court's judgment."

Also read: Death and desperation is the cost of EU migration policies, MSF

Corruption allegations

In May 2023, Yesildag accused Erdogan of corruption in a video that was broadcast during the Turkish leader’s presidential campaign. According to Yesildag, Erdogan had received a bribe over a tender for the operation of an airport in southern Turkey.

His public denunciations caused political turmoil in Turkey, with opposition parties calling for clarification.

In November 2023, Greek border guards discovered Yesildag in a rural area of Feres, northeastern Greece, where he had crossed the border from Turkey.

According to the Greek Reporter, Greek authorities found him to be the subject of a pending Turkish Interpol warrant for alleged robbery and homicide dating back to 1986.

Born in 1961 in Rize province, Erdogan's hometown, Yesildag had once been Erdogan's cellmate and purported bodyguard during Erdogan's imprisonment in 1999 for referencing a poem by a Turkish nationalist.

Yesildag built his wealth through ventures in the food and construction sectors while Erdogan was in power. However, it is unclear why their relationship later deteriorated.

'Thaw' in relations

Since the 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan, many of his opponents have sought refuge in Greece. Human rights advocates fear that Greece may extradite Yesildag amid a recent "thaw" in relations between Athens and Ankara.

In the year following Erdogan's re-election, more than 60,000 Turkish citizens have come to Germany, fleeing high inflation, unemployment and an increasingly repressive regime. But few are eligible for asylum.

Following years of tension over immigration, energy resources, and maritime boundaries in the Aegean Sea, Greece and Turkey resumed high-level negotiations in December. Erdogan made his first visit to Athens in 2017, and signed a declaration of friendship between the historically adversarial nations.

Also read: Germany received most asylum applications in 2023 – more than France and Spain combined

With AFP