CAT/C/66/D/846/2017
savings into Bank Asya, as it is for the thousands of citizens around the world who have
accounts with this bank (with 1.6 million clients).
2.5
The defence concluded that the benign, non-serious nature of this evidence of the
complainant’s membership of the Hizmet movement showed that the request to extradite
him to Turkey was politically motivated. The defence also invoked article 721 of the
Moroccan Code of Criminal Procedure.1
2.6
The defence also referred to the general human rights situation in Turkey,
particularly after the attempted coup of July 2016, which was followed by a massive wave
of arrests, trials and convictions that are continuing to arouse the indignation of the
international community. The current political situation in Turkey following the attempted
coup does not make it possible to ensure respect for the procedural rules of a State based on
the rule of law and is thus an obstacle to extradition in accordance with international
standards. This situation is characterized by reports of human rights violations from
international institutions and organizations. The defence showed the court a document
attesting to the fact that the complainant has submitted an application for asylum to the
local representative office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) in Rabat.
2.7
On 19 September 2017, the Court of Cassation ruled in favour of the complainant’s
extradition to Turkey.
2.8
Lastly, the complainant states that he has not submitted the complaint to any other
procedure of investigation or settlement, in accordance with article 22 (5) (a) of the
Convention.
The complaint
3.1
The complainant claims that if he were extradited by Morocco to Turkey he would
be in danger of being subjected to torture by the Turkish authorities, in violation of his
rights guaranteed under article 3 of the Convention.
3.2
On 20 July 2016, following the attempted coup, Turkey declared a state of
emergency in its territory. The complainant therefore faces a foreseeable, personal, present
and real risk of being tortured if he is extradited to his country of origin.
3.3
Before the Court of Cassation, which was acting as an extradition court, the
complainant firmly denied that he was a member of the Hizmet movement. The evidence
presented by the Turkish authorities that the complainant has committed an offence by
belonging to a terrorist organization, being weak and far from irrefutable and direct, should
enable the Moroccan Court of Cassation to express serious doubts about the real basis of
the extradition request and to conclude with certainty that it is politically motivated.
Moreover, membership of an organization responsible for an attempted coup, which is a
politically motivated act, should be considered a political offence and should therefore be
an obstacle to the complainant’s extradition. The complainant adds that the evidence
underpinning the warrant for his arrest is allegedly based on statements obtained under
duress.
3.4
The complainant also maintains that the provisions of article 721 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure allow the Moroccan Court of Cassation to refuse extradition requests
whenever there are doubts about the nature of such requests, including when they are based
only on vague and abstract evidence.
1
GE.19-10782
Article 721 stipulates that extradition shall not be authorized when the offence for which it is
requested is considered to be a political offence, or an offence connected with a political offence, by
the Moroccan State. This rule applies, in particular, when the Moroccan State has substantial grounds
for believing that an extradition request apparently related to an ordinary offence has in fact been
made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on grounds of his or her race, religion,
nationality or political opinion, or may aggravate this person’s situation for any of these reasons.
3