Red warrant for a Turkish citizen Binali Camgozom is still in force, even though he is the Minister of Justice in the Government of Montenegro Andrej Milović decided not to extradite its citizen to Turkey. This was done despite the verdicts of four Montenegrin courts, which concluded that he should be extradited and rejected his request for asylum, and despite the Montenegrin side's earlier promise to Turkey of extradition when all legal remedies used by Camgoz's defense were exhausted. Just a few weeks earlier, after the meeting of Minister Milović with the Turkish ambassador, the statement of the Ministry of Justice highlighted the improvement of cooperation with Turkey, especially when it comes to extradition.
Milović explained his sudden decision with humanitarian reasons: the possible persecution of a Turkish citizen due to his ethnic affiliation to the Kurdish community, but also issues related to his health, stating that Camgoz would not receive adequate treatment in Turkish prisons.
Better conditions for treatment in Turkey
According to several international reports, prisons in Turkey have an adequate system of treatment for prisoners, and health care in that country is at a much higher level than in Montenegro, as evidenced by the fact that numerous patients from our country are referred for treatment in Istanbul and other Turkish cities. cities.
Minister Milović's claims that Camgoz has serious health problems are true. He was wounded by a firearm in 2008 and has been immobile since then, but his overall condition is stable, as confirmed by the medical records obtained Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).
Camgoz contacted the health services at the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG) on November 8, 2022, a few months after he was arrested on charges of falsifying personal documents. The reason for his visit to the Orthopedic and Trauma Outpatient Clinic of the Emergency Center was that he fell from a chair while bathing in the prison, but luckily the injuries were not serious. The second time, a police escort brought him to the KCCG Surgical Clinic on July 10, 2023, due to problems that also did not require serious treatment. Two days later, Camgoz is again brought to KCCG, for control purposes, and he is released without being kept in KCCG.
From then until December last year, Camgoz did not seek medical help at KCCG. However, at the end of last year and at the beginning of this year, when a final decision was made to deny him asylum and in the midst of decision-making on extradition in the offices of the Montenegrin Government, this man visits the KCCG more often.
On December 27, he was admitted to the Gastroenterology Clinic of the KBCG, due to stomach pain. In the medical documentation, it is stated that the patient is on hunger strike and has been arbitrarily refusing food for a long time. On that day, he also refused therapy, which was prescribed to him by a specialist in internal medicine.
Ten days later, on January 7, the patient was admitted accompanied by the police to the Surgical Outpatient Clinic of the KCCG Emergency Center for, as the documentation says, self-harm. An emergency intervention was successfully performed, a foreign body was removed from the stomach, and the patient received certain therapy.
Not long after this case, after he was released from prison and was in the Reception Center for Foreigners, more precisely on January 17, the patient was again admitted to the Surgical Outpatient Clinic of the Emergency Center, accompanied by the police as a person of security interest. And this time it was about self-harm. The documentation says the patient did it to harm himself. The patient initially refuses the intervention, but in the end, the gastroscopy specialist successfully removes the foreign body and the patient is given a certain therapy. At the same time, Camgoz is also offered psychiatric help, however, as the documentation says, he "resolutely refuses" it.
Court: Asylum sought only after arrest, no fear of persecution
Another reason that motivated Minister Milović to refuse the extradition of Camgoz is his belonging to the Kurdish ethnic community and the Shiite Muslim religion. It is claimed that he has been politically persecuted for this and that the Turkish authorities are to blame for the death of Camgoz's minor son.
Several international organizations have extensive documentation that confirms that Turkey has problems with human rights, persecution of the Kurdish community, but also political opponents of the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Therefore, the arguments of Minister Milović could make sense, but only if there is documentation that confirms these findings, that is, that Camgoz was really persecuted because of his ethnic origin, religious affiliation and political views.
The fact that Binali Camgoz did not apply for international protection upon entering Montenegro and that he requested asylum only after his arrest is behavior that clearly indicates a lack of fear of persecution or the risk of serious persecution.
This is the conclusion of the panel of the Administrative Court, which, at the end of last year, rejected Camgoz's claim for asylum, thus ending the proceedings.
"If the plaintiff had a justified fear of persecution in the country of origin, he would have expressed his intention to submit an application for international protection without delay and did so upon entering Montenegro," the decision of the Administrative Court reads.
Camgoz, however, did not request asylum when entering Montenegro, but rather started a business, by using a forged passport under a false name in Budva to establish the company "LION DOO", which, according to the data of the Central Register of Business Entities (CRPS), engages in real estate construction.
Council of the Administrative Court Ana Perović Vojinović, Tatjana Krpović i Lidija Novović made a legally binding decision to reject asylum after the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) rejected Camgoz's asylum request twice.
In the judgment of the Administrative Court, it is emphasized that the fact that Binali Camgoz does not meet the requirements of the Law on International and Temporary Protection of Foreigners, which refer to interference for reasons of security (danger to the national security or public order of Montenegro), is a sufficient reason for rejecting his requests for obtaining international protection.
In the verdict, it is written that the National Security Agency gave an opinion back in February 2023 that there is a risk for national security for Montenegro, if Binali is granted asylum.
According to Minister Milović's interpretation, previously given to the daily "Vijesti", reasons of national security are not of decisive importance when making decisions regarding extradition, and that the extradition of this Turkish citizen could cost Montenegro dearly if he were to appeal to Strasbourg.
However, the practice of the court in Strasbourg does not support this claim. In the case of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR) "Saidani v. Germany", it was established that the decision to expel Saidani to Tunisia was justified due to Germany's national security, and that previously the German authorities had received so-called diplomatic assurance from Tunisia. that the death sentence to which he was sentenced in that country will not be carried out against him.
According to the information available to CIN-CG, the Montenegrin authorities did not ask for diplomatic security against the persecution of Camgoz, nor did they discuss it with the Turkish side.
Also, before the decision of the Administrative Court, in a special procedure for his extradition, three judgments of the High, Appellate and Constitutional Courts were passed that he should be extradited to Turkey.
DON'T MISS IT
And the approval of the warrant proves that there is no political persecution
Our courts are not the only ones who agree that political persecution does not await Camgoza at home. The headquarters of Interpol in Lyon strives not to approve national requests for international warrants based on political persecution. In Lyon, at the same time that Camgoz's warrant was confirmed, as many as 800 requests for international warrants by Turkey were rejected.
According to CIN-CG sources, the decision of the Minister of Justice surprised official Ankara because only a few days before everything was allegedly agreed, and according to these sources, the Montenegrin side had firmly promised Ankara that it would extradite the Turk who is accused of involvement in his country in multiple murders, kidnappings, robberies. Allegedly, according to Turkish prosecutors, Camgoz's criminal group organized and carried out the murder of one of the leaders of the Skaljar clan in Istanbul. Jovica Vukotić, in the fall of 2022.
DON'T MISS IT
At the exact time when this murder took place, Camgoz was in prison in Spuz, on charges of falsifying documents, with members of the Kavački clan, who are suspected of having ordered Vukotić's liquidation. Allegedly, Camgoz knew Vukotić and was on friendly terms with him.
"It could be persecution on the basis of ethnic and religious affiliation, because he is a member of the Kurdish community and a Shia Muslim, whose son died as a result of the actions of the security authorities of Turkey, as determined by the verdict of the Constitutional Court there," the Ministry of Justice announced after the decision was made. not to be extradited.
According to the sources of CIN-CG, the Turkish side has submitted Montenegrin and other voluminous documentation, which confirms that the claims of Camgoz and his lawyers about political persecution are unfounded.
And in the interpretations of our judiciary, as claimed by the decisions of the Appellate and Constitutional Courts, it is written that no one's responsibility for the death of Binali's son has been proven before the Turkish judicial authorities, not even the police officers who were charged with his murder.
Camgoza is wanted by Turkey on charges of creating a criminal organization, causing injury, threats, violation of weapons laws, robbery, attempted murder...
Camgoz was arrested in Montenegro in July 2022 on an Interpol warrant.
However, since then, the controversial story of his extradition to Turkey has been going on, which the Minister of Justice recently decided to put an end to.
His political opponents accuse him of corruption, saying that the only explanation for his actions is that he took the money to avoid extraditing Comgoz to Turkey. Milović denies all these claims and points the finger at the former Government Dritan Abazović, which allegedly took money in some other disputed extradition cases.
The Special State Prosecutor's Office is investigating the Camgoza case.
The Basic State Prosecutor's Office is also investigating whether Camgoz threatened the Minister of Public Administration Maraš Dukaj. The police filed two criminal charges against Camgoz for a forged passport.
Montenegro "free port for criminals"
The Turkish authorities have been negotiating with the Montenegrin authorities for a long time regarding the extradition of not only Camgoz. In addition to him, with the previous Government of Dritan Abazović, there was intense activity around the extradition of Volkan Recber, who is also wanted for criminal charges. However, the extradition of Recber ultimately fell through, as the Appellate Court of Montenegro ruled that there were no conditions for it. And Abazović's government justified itself to the Turkish side that it could not extradite Camgoz, because the court processes related to his case were still ongoing, and the results were awaited.
"Although we are not clear about the decision of the Appellate Court, we understood that the Government of Montenegro could not extradite Recber, because it could not go against the decision of its court. However, it is not clear to us how it came to this that despite the decisions of several courts that rejected Camgoz's request for asylum, the Minister of Justice makes a decision that sends the message that Montenegro is a free port for criminals," a source from Turkey told CIN-CG. administration, who wished to remain anonymous.
Milatović: Turkey is worried, I will meet with Erdogan
The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, announced that during the conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, the Turkish side expressed concern about the non-extradition of Camgoz.
He also stated that his upcoming official visit to Ankara, at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was agreed upon, as well as the signing of a strategic agreement on cooperation, which is "a confirmation of the good relations between the two countries."
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
