Extradition of Foreigners from Turkey: Arrest, Court Proceedings and Defence

The process often begins with arrest at an address or passport check and appearance before a criminal peace judge within 24 hours. Although the outcome may seem settled, extradition is not final at that stage. Turkish law sometimes prohibits it and sometimes permits discretionary refusal.

This article concerns a formal state request for prosecution or enforcement of a sentence. An Interpol Red Notice is not such a request; notices, travel risk and challenges are covered on our Interpol page. Deportation and administrative detention at a removal centre are separate measures.

1.What Is Extradition, and Which Offences Qualify?

Extradition is surrender from Turkey, on another country's request, of someone accused or convicted there. For investigation, offences must carry a maximum of at least one year's imprisonment; for sentence enforcement, the imposed prison sentence must be at least four months. The main framework is Law No. 6706 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, applied with Turkey's multilateral and bilateral treaties.

The thresholds are checked separately under both laws. For investigation or prosecution, the maximum must reach one year in both countries. For a final conviction, the imposed sentence is decisive. Several offences can be requested together even if some fall below the thresholds.

2.How Does the Request Reach Turkey?

It arrives diplomatically and generally goes to the Ministry of Justice, the “Central Authority”. The Ministry reviews the request and annexes, may seek further information and may directly reject an ineligible request.

An eligible request goes to the chief prosecutor attached to the assize court where the person is found. The prosecutor asks that court to decide. If the person's location is unknown, Ankara's assize court has jurisdiction.

Annexes generally include an arrest or detention order, conviction or indictment, facts, relevant law and identity information. These support assessment of limitation, double criminality and political character.

3.When Does Provisional Arrest Apply, and for How Long?

Before formal papers arrive, provisional arrest may be ordered at the requesting state's request with Ministry approval. Without a treaty, the maximum is 40 days. Strong suspicion of an extraditable offence is required. The arrested person appears before the peace judge within 24 hours and is informed of consensual extradition and its consequences before a decision.

The applicable treaty determines duration. Without one, cooperation rests on reciprocity and the limit is 40 days. Under the European Convention on Extradition, the normal period is 18 days and can never exceed 40.

If papers do not arrive in time, provisional arrest or judicial control ends. A later request may justify new protective measures. Arrest and arrival dates are therefore among the defence's first checks.

4.Can Judicial Control Replace Detention?

The law expressly permits measures preventing flight instead of provisional arrest. After papers arrive, the assize court may also use judicial control instead of detention at any stage.

Common obligations include an exit ban, police reporting and staying at a specified address. A stable known address, registered residence, family and work are concrete factors in assessing flight risk.

A peace judge's detention or judicial control order can generally be challenged within two weeks of learning of it. Breach can lead to detention. Judicial control does not close the extradition case; it allows liberty while it continues.

5.How Long Can Detention Continue After Papers Arrive?

Detention after the request reaches the Ministry is a separate measure, outside the 40-day cap. It may continue, subject to review at least every 30 days and the possible sentence's enforcement period. The Constitutional Court distinguished it from provisional arrest in its Brazilian-request decision of 24 January 2024 (application no. 2021/26556).

The assize court reviews at most every 30 days. Total custody cannot exceed the enforcement period of the possible or imposed sentence. If no presidentially approved extradition decision is made within one year after final admissibility, protective measures are lifted.

In Bayramaliyev v Turkey, 9 April 2026 (application no. 49068/20), the European Court of Human Rights found detention duration lawful for an applicant extradited to Azerbaijan, but found a liberty violation because Constitutional Court review was not sufficiently speedy and effective.

6.What Is Consensual Extradition, and Should It Be Accepted?

It is an accelerated process where the person agrees to surrender, narrowing detailed defence opportunities. The assize court explains rights and consequences, then asks for consent. Even with consent, it checks admissibility under law and treaties. Execution requires Ministry of Justice approval.

Consent substantially narrows the detailed defence available in ordinary proceedings. It may shorten matters for someone genuinely wishing to face trial with a clear case. Political allegations, mistreatment concerns or strong Turkish family ties should be examined first, as consent may have difficult-to-reverse consequences.

In a 2024 decision, the Court of Cassation overturned a judgment given without explaining the procedure and asking for consent. An objection is available against decisions under this procedure.

7.What Does the Assize Court Examine?

It decides extradition conditions and bars, not guilt. Ordinary extradition proceedings apply where consent is not given. Law No. 6706 and applicable treaties are considered together.

Identity comes first: the requested and located persons must be the same. The court then checks criminality under both laws, sentence thresholds and limitation. Inadequate papers may lead to a request for further information within a suitable period.

In a 2025 Russian-request case, the Court of Cassation required concrete details of where, when and how the act occurred. In 2026 it found an examination incomplete without a certified indictment translation.

8.When Must a Request Be Refused?

Turkish nationality, political or military offences, limitation, death penalty and torture risk are among the statutory bars. A request is not accepted where:

• The person is Turkish, except obligations arising from participation in the International Criminal Court.
• Strong grounds suggest prosecution because of race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, social group or political views.
• Strong grounds suggest torture or ill-treatment.
• The act is an expression offence, political or related offence, or purely military offence.
• It concerns Turkey's security, is against Turkey, a Turkish national or entity, or falls within Turkish jurisdiction.
• Limitation or amnesty applies.
• Turkey has already acquitted or convicted the person for the same act.
• The offence carries death or a punishment incompatible with human dignity, unless adequate assurances establish it will not be enforced.

Political character is assessed through manner and gravity of consequences. Genocide and crimes against humanity are never political offences.

9.How Are Political Prosecution and Mistreatment Risks Assessed?

Courts must investigate these claims carefully of their own motion. A 2026 Cassation decision required national and international reports and overturned admissibility without inquiry. General reports alone may be insufficient; individual history and allegation details give the claim weight.

The person may also seek international protection from Migration Management in a separate procedure. In 2024 Russian-request cases, Cassation overturned decisions made without investigating protection applications and related administrative litigation. The same facts should be presented consistently and with evidence in both processes.

10.Can Family Ties and Long Residence Prevent Extradition?

Long residence, marriage and children do not automatically bar surrender. They permit refusal where harm to the person or family would be disproportionate to the offence. This is discretionary, but once raised the court cannot decide without investigating family circumstances.

The 5th Criminal Chamber's decision of 16 May 2024 (case no. 2021/5628, decision no. 2024/5761) illustrates this. Russia sought a citizen for bribery proceedings. The person described a home in Alanya, longstanding family residence and children's schooling. A protection application alleged mistreatment in Russia; its refusal was being challenged administratively.

The assize court found extradition admissible. Cassation overturned it because protection records and litigation status were missing and family circumstances uninvestigated. Documented family life in Turkey is an important factor requiring investigation.

11.When Do In-Absentia Convictions, Limitation and Speciality Matter?

A conviction in the person's absence requires examination of defence rights. Under the European Convention's Second Additional Protocol, extradition may be refused where minimum defence rights were denied. Adequate assurances of retrial permit execution. Cassation found failure to seek such assurances erroneous in an Albanian case.

Limitation is determined separately under each country's law. Cassation requires proper translation of the requesting state's criminal provisions and identification of each suspending or interrupting act.

A surrendered person may generally be tried or have a sentence enforced only for offences underlying surrender. This is speciality. Where other investigations exist, express safeguards in the decision matter to the defence.

12.What Appeals and Other Remedies Are Available?

An ordinary assize judgment can be appealed to the Court of Cassation, which decides within three months. Consensual decisions instead carry an objection, not cassation appeal.

The deadline is short and missing it makes the decision final. Under the general criminal procedure rule, it is normally two weeks from service of the reasoned judgment. Record decision and service dates immediately.

After Cassation, individual application to the Constitutional Court may concern unlawful custody or mistreatment risk. Serious imminent danger to life or physical integrity may justify interim measures there or at the European Court of Human Rights.

The main stages, authorities and remedies are shown below.

Calculate each period from the file's service dates. Contact Legal Istanbul with the decisions and dates to assess which remedies remain open.

13.After Judgment: Presidential Approval and Surrender

Final admissibility does not mean immediate handover. Execution depends on opinions from Foreign Affairs and Interior, the Justice Minister's proposal and presidential approval. Without approval, surrender does not occur despite the final judgment. The Ministry notifies both the requesting state and person of acceptance or refusal.

Delivery is coordinated with the relevant ministries. If the requesting state fails without justification to collect the person on the agreed date, protective measures end 30 days later.

The Ministry may postpone delivery for another Turkish investigation, prosecution or prison sentence, or inability to travel.

14.How Does Extradition Differ from Deportation?

Extradition is criminal judicial cooperation following a foreign state's request and court examination. Deportation is an administrative decision ending the right to stay. Both may arise simultaneously but have different bases and remedies.

Law No. 6706 links them expressly: deportation during extradition requires the Central Authority's opinion. After refusal, deportation to that requesting state also requires Ministry opinion.

A deportation action may be filed within seven days, and the administrative court's decision is final. Details are in our deportation guide.

15.Do Russian, Kazakh, Iranian, Iraqi and EU Requests Follow Different Rules?

Treaties determine provisional custody, documents and in-absentia safeguards. Without a treaty, cooperation rests on reciprocity.

EU requests generally apply the European Convention and protocols. Cassation also examines Russian requests under that Convention and Law No. 6706. The Ministry's bilateral list, accessed in October 2026, includes:

• Russia: mutual criminal assistance and extradition agreement.
• Iran: civil and criminal judicial cooperation agreement.
• Iraq: legal and judicial cooperation convention.
• Kazakhstan: criminal assistance and extradition agreement; Uzbekistan: extradition treaty.
• Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan: judicial cooperation or assistance agreements.

Check the current Ministry bilateral treaty list.

16.Conclusion: The Request and the Person's Circumstances Are Decisive

A foreign state's wish does not automatically result in surrender. Documents, the Turkish-law character of the act and circumstances in both countries determine the result. Similar requests from one country can differ because allegations, mistreatment risk and Turkish family ties differ.

First identify the stage and treaty. The 40-day provisional period, judicial control objection, cassation appeal and seven-day deportation action run independently, each risking loss of rights. Record arrest, papers' arrival, judgment and service dates from the start.