The past years ms Erdal was in the midst of stupid lawsuits trying to force her by law to submit to the non-democratic turkish authorities. The upcoming membership of Turky in the European Community has probably had its influence.
Fehriye Erdal and two other members of the Anatolian Revolutionary People's Front (DHKP/C) was arrested by stupid coincidence in september 1999 in Belgium. Immediately Turky asked her extradition as a suspect in the murder of the turkish billionaire Ozdemir Sabanci. They were charged with illegal possession of weapons and conspiracy. The trio claimed that the guns they were carrying were necessary to protect them from the Turkish death squads.
Strangely the DHKP/C has a very legal office in Brussels which does seem to ridicule the claim of conspiracy a bit.
The following years they were acquitted, accused again, almost set free and finally by bending the laws considered as dangerous criminals. The small woman was seen on the TV handcuffed, blindfolded, between a large amount of police officers. It seems the belgian justice kept ruling her liberation, all the official advisory councils kept stating that she deserved to be considered a political refugee, but the authorities kept filling lawsuit after lawsuit and taking the wrong decisions.
A few months ago, when she was held prisoner in the prison of Bruges, the minister (state secretary) of foreign affairs ordened pompously an official inquiry to the allegations that the turkish secret services were planning her abduction. At that time her security and that of her family was supposedly taken seriously by the belgian authorities. Yet on the other hand she was silently considered by foreign affairs as a danger to public order; Yet the State Council (the highest juridic apparatus in Belgium) ruled that this claim had no grounds. It seemed this was necessary to evict her out without too much fuss out of the country back to the torture camps in Turky. Following this she went on hunger strike. Several organizations (Amnesty, People's Rights Watch and the Belgian-Kurdish Friendship Association) tried to be heard in the media to grant her the political asylum she has been asking for years.
Finally on 16th august she was released, after 33 days without food weighing only 40 kg. She was moved to a house where Turkish journalists broke in and filmed her with the full knowledge of the state security. She started another hunger fight for real freedom. Her lawyers thought Belgium had intentions to evict her to another country where she could easily be transferred to Turky. Her health was considered critical.
And now last tuesday, she suddenly escaped surveillance. State security is apologizing to the authorities, belgian politicians are apologizing to Turky, the media ridicule the whole situation and the inefficiency of police, the turkish authorities almost start a holly war against Belgium…
Reading all the above, do you really believe she escaped magickally to never-nerverland? Or is she rotting away in a Turkish jail?
Read more as viewed from the Turkish side in turkish Weekly. I sadly found no English-speaking sites giving the non-official view. For those who grock Dutch, see the
