Kosovo acquits a Turkish man detained on terror charges

PRISTINA, Kosovo – A Kosovo court has acquitted a Turkish man of terror charges and will not extradite him to Turkey.

Prosecutor Ali Rexha on Thursday told The Associated Press he could not extradite Ugur Toksoy after Turkish authorities offered no evidence for terror charges against him.

Toksoy, who was working for a non-governmental foundation in Kosovo, was arrested in Prizren in western Kosovo in October after Turkey accused him of participating in a failed 2016 coup attempt there.

Toksoy thanked Kosovo authorities “for seeing justice” and urged Pristina to raise its voice on the violation of human rights in Turkey.

Turkey has jailed more than 50,000 people in a crackdown against suspected supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who it accuses of being behind the failed coup. Gulen denies the claim.