Turkey hosts meeting for repatriaton of terror convicts

 High-level judges, prosecutors and experts from Turkey, the United States, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iraq, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland were in attendance at the meeting that took place in Istanbul on June 24-26.

Participants exchanged their views on international requirements to lift hindrances in repatriation of individuals who were convicted of acts of terrorism.

Ahmet Kahraman, deputy undersecretary of the Turkish Ministry of Justice who attended the meeting said, "The terrorist organizations, against which we have been fighting, pursue its illegal activities --such as collecting money from people forcefully, human smuggling and illicit drug trafficking-- in Europe."

They pose a serious threat not only on Turkey's public order, but also they constitute a danger for European countries, Kahraman added.

Terrorist groups find countries to hide themselves by exploiting international leverages such as right of asylum, Kahraman said, and therefore, one of the most influential ways of international cooperation to fight against terrorism is to abide by international agreements about extradition of convicts, he added.

EU's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles De Kerchove said for his part all countries should agree on a single definition of terrorism and a joint criminal law to counter terrorism.