AKEL on the side of the Kurdish activist Kenan Ayaz

 

20 April 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The decision of the Larnaca District Court on the case of the Kurdish activist Kenan Ayaz is disappointing and worrying. As it is known, Kenan Ayaz, a recognized political refugee who has been living in Cyprus for ten years, was arrested on the basis of a European warrant issued by Germany which is seeking his extradition.

Behind these actions of the German authorities are the demands of the Turkish state, which wants to suppress the Kurdish militant movement in every way possible. We stress that the Turkish state is relying on the fact that European states adopt Ankara’s propaganda to label militants as “terrorists”, while the EU and NATO have included the Kurdish Workers’ Party in the lists of “terrorist organizations” they compile. AKEL has long been in favour of removing the PKK from these “terrorist lists”, which are drawn up arbitrarily and for specific purposes anyway.

AKEL joining its voice with that of the Kurdish community of Cyprus and all Cypriots demanding that the Republic of Cyprus does not extradite Kenan Ayaz, attended today with AKEL C.C. Spokesperson and MP Giorgos Koukoumas, the solidarity rally held outside the Supreme Court.