Turkey has submitted documents to Czech Republic authorities formally requesting the extradition of the former leader of the PYD, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday.
Salih Muslum, a former co-chair of the PYD, was detained in the Czech capital of Prague on Saturday under an Interpol red notice based on a Turkish request for his arrest.
The PYD is the political arm of the YPG, which is a Syrian offshoot of the PKK. Turkey has long been confronted with armed attacks in its eastern and southeastern regions by the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, the EU, and NATO.
The PKK, which was established in 1974 in Ankara, began launching terror attacks in 1984. Armed clashes and acts of violence have continued on and off for more than 30 years and claimed more than 40,000 lives.
Muslum was put on Turkey’s most-wanted list earlier in February with a $1 million reward.
New warrants
On Monday, Turkish prosecutors issued a new warrant for his detention, accusing Muslum and about 30 other people of being behind a bomb attack on a tax office in Ankara earlier this month.
Nine people were detained in connection with the attack, which caused damage to the tax office but no casualties.
Bozdag said during a live television interview on Monday that Turkey’s Justice Ministry had sent a “file” formally requesting his extradition.
Muslum was expected to appear before a Prague court on Tuesday, which would then decide if he would remain in detention, Turkish Ambassador in Prague Ahmet Necati Bigali told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency.
The PYD is the leading political Kurdish force in northern Syria, and Muslum remains highly influential in the party, even after stepping down as co-chair last year.
On January 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch northern Syria, seeking to rout the Daesh and US-backed YPG, from the enclave of Afrin.
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