Levent Kenez/Stockholm
Ali Yesildag, a former insider turned whistleblower who exposed alleged multibillion-dollar corruption involving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his inner circle, is at imminent risk of extradition from Greece to Turkey.
The European Court of Human Rights formally notified the Greek government on July 17, 2025, that it would review Yesildag’s case, raising serious concerns under Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 5.1 (protection against arbitrary detention) and Article 6.1 (right to a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Strasbourg court asked the Greek government to clarify whether Yesildag would face a real risk of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, unlawful detention or the denial of a fair trial if extradited to Turkey; whether Greek asylum and judicial authorities had properly assessed those risks based on all available evidence; and whether Turkey’s diplomatic assurances were sufficient to protect his rights under the ECHR.
Yesildag is no ordinary defendant. He is closely linked to the Erdogan family through his brothers, Hasan and Zeki Yesildag, longtime confidants and business operatives for the Turkish president. In a series of videos released on YouTube in May 2023, Yesildag alleged that Erdogan, in one case, personally received a $1 billion kickback in a rigged airport tender in 2007. He also claimed Erdogan had amassed a vast fortune, potentially...
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