On Tuesday, Greece’s top administrative court, the Council of State, decided to approve the extradition of businessman Ali Yesildag to Turkey.
The 54-year-old businessman, who previously had strong family and professional connections with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, later accused the Turkish president of corruption.
He was arrested in November 2023 by Greek border guards in Evros after illegally crossing the Greek-Turkish border.
After his arrest, the Bursa Public Prosecutor’s Office sent a request to Greece for the extradition of Yesildag, who had been sentenced to a total of 19 years and 23 months in prison. He was convicted by Turkish courts of various crimes, including murder, kidnapping and possession of weapons.
Last February, the Thrace Court of Appeals upheld Ali Yesildag’s extradition to Turkey. The 54-year-old then appealed to the Council of State to overturn the Deputy Minister of Justice’s decision to extradite him to Turkey.
Yesildag argued that if he was extradited to Turkey, he would be at risk of additional charges, as well as harsh and inhumane treatment and torture.
According to him, this is due to his falling out with President Erdogan and his public revelations in the Turkish media about financial scandals involving Erdogan and other government officials.
The Council, however, found the decision in line with European and Greek law and rejected Yesildag’s appeal.
Human Rights groups had called on Greece not to extradite him.
“The life of businessman Ali Yesildag is in danger” in Turkey, and he risks a life sentence over charges of “participating in an armed extremist organization,” the Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR) and four other refugee rights agencies had said in a joint statement.
The group called on the Greek justice minister “to protect the life of Ali Yesildag… by fundamental legal guarantees and international law, and to reject the Turkish state’s request.”
Erdogan’s critic accuses Turkey’s leader of corruption
In May 2023, Yesildag accused Erdogan of corruption in a video that was broadcast during the Turkish leader’s presidential campaign. According to Yesildag, Erdogan had received a bribe over a tender for the operation of an airport in Southern Turkey.
His public denunciations caused political turmoil in Turkey with opposition parties calling for clarification.
In mid-November 2023, Greek border guards spotted the businessman in a rural area of Feres in northeastern Greece, after he illegally crossed the Greek-Turkish border. Greek police officers found that he had a pending Turkish Interpol warrant against him for robbery and homicide allegedly committed in 1986.
Yesildag was born in 1961 in Rize province, President Erdogan’s birthplace. He was Erdogan’s cellmate and reported bodyguard when Erdogan was imprisoned in 1999 for reading a poem.
He had several companies in the food and construction industries and became a wealthy businessman while Erdogan ruled the country. However, for unknown reasons, Yesildag later parted ways with Erdogan.
Since a coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016, numerous opponents of the President have sought asylum in Greece.
