US Department of State: 'Eylem Tok should be extradited to Turkey'

The US Department of State has taken a step regarding the extradition to Turkey of Eylem Tok, who smuggled her 17-year-old son, Timur Cihantimur, to the US after he caused the death of Oğuz Murat Aci while driving without a license in Istanbul.

The Department has sent a letter to the prosecution for Eylem Tok's extradition to Turkey.

The letter included in the court file stated, "The US Department of State, based on new information received informally from the Government of Turkey, has determined that both charges related to Eylem Tok's extradition meet the requirements under the bilateral extradition treaty between the US and Turkey."

The statement continued, "Initially, the department assessed that only the charge of harboring a criminal should be forwarded to the court. However, the new information provided by Turkey indicated that the charge of destroying, concealing, or altering evidence should also be presented to the court for consideration.

This new information strengthened Turkey's extradition request and led the Department of State to evaluate these crimes within the scope of the extradition treaty," it said.

In the letter added to the file by the US Department of State, addressed to Prosecutor Kristin Kearney of the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston where Eylem Tok is being tried, it was stated that after Turkey submitted the new information to the Department through diplomatic channels, the Department of State intends to sign a new declaration stating that both crimes in Turkey's original request fall within the framework of the extradition treaty.

PROCESS EXPECTED TO ACCELERATE

This declaration aims to accelerate the process regarding Turkey's extradition request. The acceptance by the US Department of State of the two main charges put forward by Turkey in its request for Eylem Tok's extradition—"harboring a criminal" and "destroying, concealing, or altering evidence"—within the framework of the extradition treaty increases the likelihood of extradition.

WHAT HAPPENED?

On March 1, at approximately 23:50, 29-year-old Oğuz Murat Aci lost his life in the Eyüpsultan district of Istanbul when Timur Cihantimur, while driving a luxury car, struck three ATV-type vehicles parked on the side of the road due to a breakdown.

Following the accident, the unlicensed driver Timur Cihantimur was smuggled first to Egypt and then to the US by his mother, Eylem Tok. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which launched an investigation into the incident, issued an arrest warrant for mother Eylem Tok for "harboring a criminal" and for Timur Cihantimur for "causing death and injury by negligence" after it was determined they had flown from Istanbul to Egypt on March 2 at approximately 03:50, and requested the issuance of a Red Notice for them.

Turkey requested the extradition of the mother and son from the US last month. Timur Cihantimur and Eylem Tok were apprehended by police in an operation in Boston, USA, on Friday, June 14.

News Source: İHA