Why is Attila Hildmann not extradited to Germany?

Attila Hildmann is still at large. Although the former vegan chef is wanted on an Interpol arrest warrant, no arrest has yet been made.

It has been clear since October 2022 that Hildmann is in Turkey. A research collective by the name of Hildbusters tracked him down, and “stern” reported on it. But nothing has happened so far. The 41-year-old was neither arrested by the Turkish police, nor was there an extradition request from Germany. This was confirmed by the Berlin Attorney General’s Office when asked by the Hamburg magazine.

A spokesman for the authorities added that the public prosecutor’s office only found out from “stern” that Hildmann lives in the small Turkish town of Kartepe and should continue to do so.

Why is Attila Hildmann not making progress despite the pressure to investigate?

Theoretically, according to the European extradition treaty, Turkey is obliged to arrest the Berliner and have him transported to Germany. The Interpol penalty order has been issued. However, according to the Attorney General’s Office, the federal government can only officially request Turkey’s extradition once the Turkish police have arrested Hildmann. Furthermore, it would be possible for Turkey to urge Germany to submit an extradition request. According to the Attorney General’s Office, neither has happened yet.

Extradition requests in the dark would not be made, said a spokesman for the authority, according to “stern”. The federal government had “not yet made any extradition requests” against Hildmann.

So far there is no information as to whether the federal government has put pressure on Hildmann in Turkey. The Federal Ministry of Justice is silent on this. There may already be negotiations going on in the background. Member of the Bundestag Andrej Hunko (Die Linke) fears that Hildmann could be something like “bargaining ground” for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “He will try to use him as a means of exerting pressure in order to have Turkish opposition figures extradited from Germany in return,” Hunko told Stern. However, there is currently no concrete evidence for this view.

Hildmann has been silent for weeks after he became conspicuous as a corona denier in Germany at the height of the pandemic and also attracted attention with right-wing extremist statements. Among other things, he publicly denied the Holocaust, even calling Adolf Hitler a “blessing” compared to Angela Merkel. He is being investigated in more than 1,000 cases for incitement to hatred and insults.

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