ANKARA - Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said Friday relations between Turkey and Britain are perfect, however, the procedure of extradition of criminals is a little bit slow.
Sahin and British Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw held a joint press conference following their meeting in Ankara.
Sahin said Turkey established the most intensive relations in legal area with Britain among EU countries.
He noted that Turkey and Britain will jointly hold a seminar program which will be participated by judges and prosecutors, adding that he discussed opportunities of cooperation in this area with Straw.
On the other hand, Straw said there are many areas on which Turkey and Britain can cooperate.
He noted that there are several implementations in Britain which can constitute a model for Turkey.
He was informed about electronic judicial system network in Turkey, Straw said and added that he was impressed with this system when compared with many systems in Britain.
When a reporter asked whether there is a development about extradition of criminals, Turkish Minister Sahin said there are several suspects in Britain which Turkey asks for their extradition, adding that the extradition procedures between Turkey and Britain are rather slow, and it is necessary to speed up these procedures.
Straw said they aim to strengthen the cooperation between Turkey and Britain about this issue, and initiatives about extradition of criminals are under way.
Sahin said Friday there were several problems regarding extradition of criminals but those problems stemmed from Britain, not Turkey.
Asked to comment on the news reports that Murat Karayilan and Cemil Bayik, PKK's top terrorists, had been captured, Sahin said he did not have any information on the matter.
When recalled of Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan's and Ankara Bar Chairman Vedat Ahsen Cosar's statements that closure of political parties was not right, Sahin said it was not appropriate to comment on an ongoing case, however, assessments of Toptan and Cosar were extremely noteworthy.
Asked if assistance of the United States and Britain against PKK terrorism was enough, Sahin indicated that there were agreements on extradition of criminals.
"I have told Mr. Straw that unfortunately no progress could be recorded in extradition of criminals. There are several convicts and criminals who still live in Britain. When Turkey asked extradition of them, Britain said all of the files should be combined before they were sent to Britain. British authorities have been told that it was impossible to combine those files as they were different cases according to the Code of Civil Procedure. Consequently, it takes time because of bureaucratic impediments," Sahin said.
Asked, "Britain says it will assist Turkey in its fight against terrorism, do you think this is sincere," Sahin said, "among the EU member countries, it is Britain with which Turkey cooperates the most in judiciary."