Georgia dismisses asylum request of FETO fugitive

By Davit Kachkachishvili

TBILISI, Georgia (AA) - A Georgian Court of Appeals on Friday dismissed the asylum request of a fugitive linked to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

Mustafa Emre Cabuk, who was one of the former executives of FETO-affiliated private college Ozel Demirel Koleji, was detained last year in the capital Tbilisi and remanded in custody on May 24, 2017.

The license of the college to operate in the country was also cancelled last year.

The Georgian Ministry of Immigration and Refugee had rejected the asylum request of Cabuk and his family.

The lawyers of the suspect challenged the rejection in Tbilisi’s city court – which did not consider the petition -- and finally they filed an appeal to the country’s court of appeals.

The extradition process is set to be completed on Feb 24.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.