An Islamic militant suspected of devising a 1998 plot to crash an explosives-laden plane into a major Turkish landmark was extradited from Germany on Tuesday. Muhammed Metin Kaplan will face treason charges in Turkey for allegedly trying to destroy the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the secular Turkish state. Turkish authorities allege Kaplan plotted in October 1998 to smash an explosives-laden executive jet into Ataturk's mausoleum, which covers an entire hilltop in Ankara. The attack, officials say, was to happen when thousands of officers, students and foreign dignitaries were visiting the site for a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the secular republic. German officials say Kaplan chartered a jet for the attack, but the alleged plot was foiled when Turkish police arrested 23 suspected members of Kaplan's group the day before the ceremony. German authorities detained Kaplan, dubbed the ``Caliph of Cologne'' by his supporters, earlier Tuesday at an Internet cafe after a court approved his extradition. Germany has outlawed Kaplan's Caliphate State group, which calls for the overthrow of Turkey's secular government and its replacement with an Islamic state. Kaplan has denied the allegation. He has, however, declared a jihad or ``holy war'' against the secular Turkish republic. Officials say Kaplan has about 800 followers in Germany.
Kaplan has been free since May 2003 after serving a four-year German prison sentence for incitement in the killing of a rival cleric in Berlin in 1997. He has been required to report to Cologne police weekly. Kaplan foiled German police attempts to arrest him in May by disappearing for several days after another court ruled he could be extradited. The arrest warrant was called off when a federal court granted Kaplan an appeal, which is pending. The Cologne, Germany, court ruled Tuesday that Kaplan remains ``an identification figure for Islamic extremism'' and that his interest in staying in the country is ``outweighed by the public interest in an immediate deportation.'' Kaplan had asked the local court to reinstate his status as a political asylum seeker, but in Tuesday's decision it refused. The court also claimed that his appeal in federal court in Leipzig does not justify keeping Kaplan in the country. It rejected Kaplan's argument that he was too sick to travel. His extradition had been delayed by concerns that his followers have been subjected to torture in Turkey and that he could face political persecution.
Kaplan's extradition to Turkey was made possible after Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2002. Turkey has introduced measures to crack down on torture to meet European Union conditions for membership, but rights groups say torture still occurs. Turkey last year assured the German government that Kaplan would get a fair trial. No connection has been established between Kaplan's group and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. But German investigators have said that some members traveled to Afghanistan to meet with supporters of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 1996 or 1997. |