LEIPZIG, Germany, Dec 7 (AFP) - A German court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a leading Turkish militant known as the Caliph of Cologne against his extradition to Turkey in October.
The federal administrative court in this eastern city ruled that the expulsion of the 52-year-old on charges of high treason had been legal.
Before his deportation, the federal government and the western city of Cologne had been fighting to kick Kaplan out of the country for more than a year but were repeatedly thwarted by court rulings arguing that he could face mistreatment if sent back to Turkey.
But the federal court said Tuesday that the Turkish system offered crime suspects sufficient legal recourse if they believed their human rights had been violated.
The predominantly Muslim country plans to try him from December 20 for attempting to overthrow its secular system, calling for a holy war and plotting to attack a shrine to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey's founder.
Kaplan ended a four-year prison term in Germany in March 2003 for inciting members of the Hilafet Devleti group or "Caliphate" to murder a rival Islamic leader.
12/07/2004 15:57 GMT - AFP