Albanian court officials announced on Friday the custody remand of Julide Yazici, a Turkish citizen who now finds herself at the heart of a diplomatic and legal tug-of-war. The activist, who teaches at a primary school in France, was arrested at Tirana Airport on August 4 after Turkish authorities issued an extradition request. According to the ruling, she will be handed over to serve the remaining portion of a four-year sentence for aiding a group classified as terrorist by Turkey's government.
Charges and background
Yazici is accused of providing logistical support to a group linked to Turkey’s Kurdish minority. She is also accused of participating in the 2013 Gezi Park protests. These protests were a landmark event. They saw widespread demonstrations in Istanbul. The demonstrations were against the government led by then-president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Despite these legal actions in Turkey, Yazici has been granted political asylum in France.
Legal defense and reaction
Her lawyer, Artan Shllaku, argued in court. He said she should be placed under house arrest. He cited her asylum status and lack of threat to public safety. “She visited Albania a year ago to see family and faced no issues,” he said. The court ruled in favor of the prosecution’s request. Shllaku has announced his intention to appeal the decision. He claims the ruling misunderstands her legal protections under French asylum law.
Yazici’s arrest highlights a pattern of extradition requests from Turkey for individuals affiliated with groups critical of the current regime. In recent years, several Turkish nationals linked to the movement of the now-deceased Fethullah Gulen have been detained in Albania before being deported to Turkey.