BRUSSELS - Following the Belgian Council of State's cancellation of the Belgian Interior Ministry's decision of extraditing terrorist Fehriye Erdal from Belgium, Belgian Interior Minister Antoine Duquesne could take another decision.
Duquesne decided to extradite on August 2000 Erdal, one of the suspects of assassination of Ozdemir Sabanci in Turkey, in order to make invalid the application of Erdal to U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) for political asylum. Duquesne had noted that ''terrorist Erdal constituted danger to the public security in Belgium.'' However Belgium could not find a country to extradite Erdal at that time as there was death penalty in Turkey. The terrorist applied to the Belgian Council of State and was able to suspend the extradition decision. The existence of this decision even if suspended prevented the terrorist from making another application for asylum.
The lawyers of terrorist Erdal asked the Council of State to cancel the decision of Belgian Interior Ministry. The Belgian Council of State cancelled the decision of Interior Ministry yesterday saying that there was no strong evidence regarding the terrorist's constituting a threat to the public order.
Judiciary sources said that terrorist Erdal could ask for another political asylum by UNHCR, adding that this possibility didn't seem very likely. Sources reminded that UNHCR opposed the extradition of the terrorist to Turkey and that it was not also warm to the acceptation of Erdal as political refugee.
Belgian Interior Ministry can give another decision of extradition for Erdal with a new and more comprehensive document.
Lawyer of Sabanci family Fernand Schmitz said that the asylum seeking initiatives of the terrorist would not save herself from being tried for the crimes she committed. He added that it was not possible for her to get political asylum. Schmitz recalled that the Belgian ''Super Federal Prosecutor'' who worked to strengthen the fight against terrorism in Belgium took up the file of Fehriye Erdal and he intervened with the judiciary process himself.
Erdal, one of the assailants of the assassination of Sabanci Holding Automotive Group Chairman Ozdemir Sabanci, Toyota-Sa General Director Haluk Gorgun and secretary Nilgun Hasefe on January 9, 1996, was captured in Belgium with a false passport in the name of Nese Yildirim on September 26, 1999.
Belgium had rejected Turkey's request for Erdal's extradition due to existence of death sentence in laws and at the same time returned political asylum application of the terrorist.
After serving a year in prison, Erdal was taken under house arrest and is waiting to be tried on charges of crimes she committed in Belgium. Carrying a gun, taking part in activities of a crime gang and using false identity card are among these crimes.
(ÖS-AÖ) 01.04.2003