'Caliph of Cologne' goes free

A court in the German city of Duesseldorf has turned down a Turkish request to extradite a militant Islamic cleric to face treason charges. The court ruled that Metin Kaplan, known as the "Caliph of Cologne" after a radical group he set up, could face human rights abuses if he returned to Turkey.

German Interior Minister Otto Schily "regretted" the decision which he said had been made despite Turkish assurances that legal principles would be respected.

Kaplan in March completed a four-year jail term for calling for the murder of a rival religious leader, but has been in custody ever since pending a decision on extradition.

He was released after the ruling, but still faces deportation following the removal of his asylum status last year.

He is appealing against the asylum decision, and retains the right to stay in Germany at least until the appeal process is exhausted.

Kaplan set up his group, the Caliphate State, in Cologne in 1984 to call for the violent overthrow of the secular Turkish state and replace it with an Islamic regime.

Though the group has made recent attempts to distance itself from terrorism, it is thought to have planned to fly a plane into the mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, in 1998.

The group was banned in 2001 under German anti-terror laws following the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.

According to German intelligence, Caliphate leaders at one time tried to join forces with al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

He was released yesterday, and just some minutes after that, our news media reported it.

Well, this is a good example of our principle, that the law is valid for all people - without exception (including our enemies).

I do not feel fine with that decision of the court, and I´m sure the judges aren´t either. It´s sad that Turkey still cannot be viewed as a human rights respecting state. If they were, the Caliph had been flown with handcuffs yesterday to Turkey and could face there another imprisonment.

He surely deserves it.

Michael
Düsseldorf, GER

Commentary of the most-read German paper (Bild Zeitung):

"He strives for a "God state". But he acts as if he has a contract with the devil: calls for murder in Germany, plans to topple down the government in Turkey.

The governments in Berlin and Düsseldorf agree: "That Caliph of Cologne" has to leave Germany!

But Justice refuses to play that game. That´s why the criminal may stay - and even hope to be granted asylum.

Something is wrong in this country. When the laws allow sentences like the one for Metin Kaplan, then they must be changed!

It is unbearable that enemies of this "state of rights" are protected here.

„Who abuses our hospitality, has to go, immediately!“ That was said by Gerhard Schröder in 1997, when he wanted to become Chancellor. If he had acted like that since he took over office, then the Caliph would be there where he should be: in the plane with destination Turkey."

'Caliph of Cologne' gives police slip

By Kate Connolly
(Filed: 28/05/2004)

German authorities faced accusations of incompetence last night after they lost track of an Islamic militant facing extradition to Turkey and then had to call off a Europe-wide manhunt when he won the right to appeal.

Metin Kaplan, the self-styled "Caliph of Cologne", is wanted in Turkey for plotting in 1998 to crash an aircraft into the mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the secular state.

Police failed to find him when they went to arrest him at his flat in Cologne on Wednesday following the extradition order.

"It is true we have lost all sight of him," said a police spokesman.

An alert was issued to police forces from Iceland to Greece, but a court ruled last night that Kaplan should be granted two months to launch an appeal against the extradition order. This meant that the manhunt had to be stood down.

In any case, police admitted that he might still be in Cologne, perhaps hidden in the 14-storey block in which he lives. Police did not have the power to search flats there other than his own. Police denied that his escape was the result of their negligence, saying he was required to register with them only once a week.

Opposition leaders called for an investigation into how a man supposedly under the close scrutiny of the authorities could have escaped so easily.

"The authorities [say they] were watching, observing," said Gunther Beckstein, interior minister of Bavaria. "But that was just not the case."

Dieter Wiefelsputz, of the governing Social Democrats, admitted: "It's an embarrassing incident. For once we had good judgment. The man just disappeared."

Kaplan, 51, who is known for his anti-Semitic tirades and calls for jihad had fought the extradition attempts since 2001 when his group, Hilafet Devleti, was ruled unconstitutional and a threat to democracy following the September 11 attacks.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.