The Bucharest Court of Appeal rejects the extradition of a Turkish underling. How do judges justify the court's decision

Judges at the Bucharest Court of Appeal rejected the Turkish authorities' request to extradite a criminal gang member who carried out armed attacks in Istanbul against rivals, using pistols and automatic weapons.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal rejected the extradition of Firat Guneș PHOTO Archive

In December 2025, the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Court of Appeal notified the court with a request made by the Turkish judicial authorities – Criminal Court for Serious Crimes no. 16 Istanbul, in which the extradition of Firat Gunes, wanted internationally for belonging to a criminal group, identified as the wing “colorblind” of the group led by Bariș Boyun, according to Agerpres.

At the time of the notification to the court, Firat Guneș was identified on the territory of Romania, where he was under preventive arrest, in a criminal case instrumented by the Romanian authorities, under the aspect of committing the crime of favoring the perpetrator.

According to court documents, Turkish prosecutors claim that between October 10, 2023 and November 11, 2023, as a member of the group “colorblind”Firat Guneș participated in the organization and support of armed attacks on two targets in Istanbul, “attacks with illegally possessed firearms, including AK-47 assault rifles and 9mm pistols”.

The quoted sources also say that they have on file recordings of the phone conversations held by Firat Guneș with another member of the gang, in which the two discuss a stolen motorcycle, used in an armed attack and which was later thrown into the Sazlibosna dam near Istanbul. Also, Firat Guneș allegedly possessed and carried without right firearms and ammunition used in order to achieve the group's objectives.

Although they admit that the documents received from Turkey contain a sufficiently clear exposition of the facts for which Firat Guneș is accused, the Romanian judges rejected, last week, the extradition request, on the grounds that the man has a serious health condition – “severe gunshot trauma previously suffered on Turkish territory”having gastric, intestinal and colic perforations, as well as kidney damage, which required extensive surgical interventions.

Romanian judges also cite the harsh conditions of detention in Turkish prisons, but also the Turkish authorities' arbitrary use of accusations of belonging to criminal organizations to suppress critical voices.

“This objective and current information substantiates the fear that the extraditable person would not benefit from the necessary protection for his physical integrity, all the more so since he has already been the victim of acts of extreme armed violence on the territory of the requesting state, a context that increases his vulnerability. In this context, the formal guarantees offered by the requesting state are without substance in the face of the documented risk that the extraditable person will not receive the post-operative care and immunological monitoring indispensable for his survival”say Romanian judges, according to court documents.