Yes, Turkey does extradite people to the United States, under a bilateral treaty that has been in force since January 1, 1981.1The American Presidency Project. United States-Turkey Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Message to the Senate Transmitting the Treaty But the treaty is not a vending machine. Turkey’s constitution forbids surrendering its own citizens, several other grounds let Turkish authorities say no, and the final decision sits with Turkey’s Minister of Justice even after a court approves the request.
The Treaty That Governs It
The legal basis is the Treaty on Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed in Ankara on June 7, 1979 and in force since the start of 1981. It replaced an older extradition treaty signed at Lausanne in 1923.2GovInfo. Extradition Treaty – Turkey, August 6, 1923
Under the current treaty, an offense is extraditable if it carries a potential prison sentence of at least one year in both countries. The two legal systems do not have to use the same name for the crime or define its elements identically. What matters is whether the underlying conduct is punishable on both sides.
Turkish Citizens Are Off the Table
This is the hardest limit to work around, and it is worth stating plainly before anything else. Article 38 of Turkey’s constitution prohibits the extradition of Turkish nationals to a foreign country.3Council of Europe. Turkey National Procedures for Extradition No exception, no diplomatic workaround. When a Turkish citizen is accused of a crime committed in the United States, Turkey’s response is to prosecute the person at home under Turkish law if the conduct is also an offense there. Because the bar is constitutional rather than merely statutory, changing it would require amending the constitution.
Dual nationals who hold Turkish citizenship fall within the same protection. For practical purposes, if the person the US wants carries a Turkish passport, extradition is not on the table.
What the Offense Has to Look Like
Dual Criminality
The conduct in the US charging documents must also be a crime under Turkish law. If the behavior is illegal in the United States but legal in Turkey, extradition cannot proceed. The two countries do not need to use the same label for the offense; the question is whether the behavior itself would be punishable in both jurisdictions.
The Specialty Rule
If Turkey surrenders someone, the US can prosecute that person only for the specific offenses listed in the extradition request. US prosecutors cannot use the surrender as an opening to pursue unrelated earlier charges. This protects the surrendering country’s role in reviewing exactly what the person is being handed over for.
Political Offenses
Purely political offenses are excluded. The exception has limits: violent acts such as terrorism, and offenses against heads of state, are generally not treated as political even when a political motive exists. Turkish courts assess the line case by case.
Other Grounds Turkey Can Refuse
Even where the offense qualifies, several defenses can block a surrender.
Death penalty. Turkey abolished capital punishment for all offenses in 2004. If the US charge could carry a death sentence, Turkey will refuse extradition unless the US gives binding assurances that the death penalty will not be sought or carried out. The US routinely provides those assurances when seeking surrender from abolitionist countries.
Statute of limitations. If the limitations period has expired under Turkish law, extradition can be refused, even if the charge is still viable in the United States. The Turkish clock controls.
Human rights and persecution. Turkey can decline if there are substantial grounds to believe the person would face torture, inhumane treatment, or persecution based on race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. Requests that look politically motivated rather than aimed at genuine criminal prosecution fall under the same concern.
Already handled elsewhere. Extradition can be refused if the person has already been tried and acquitted of the same offense, if there is an amnesty in either country for the conduct, or if the person is currently being prosecuted for the same acts in Turkey or a third country. Military offenses that are not crimes under ordinary criminal law are also excluded.
How a Request Actually Moves
On the US side, every federal extradition request has to be reviewed and approved by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs before anything goes to Turkey. Federal prosecutors and agents cannot contact Turkish counterparts directly to arrange an arrest for extradition.4U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Manual 9-15.000 – International Extradition and Related Matters Once approved, the package goes to the State Department, which routes it to the US Embassy in Ankara. The embassy presents it to the Turkish government through a formal diplomatic note.
In Ankara, Turkey’s Ministry of Justice is the central authority. The Ministry checks the request against the treaty and Turkey’s domestic extradition law, Law No. 6706 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, and can reject a request outright at this stage if the alleged offense is too minor.5Republic of Turkey Ministry of Justice. Central Authority Role in International Judicial Cooperation
If the request clears that review, the Ministry sends the case to a Turkish criminal court. At the hearing, the person facing extradition can challenge the request on dual criminality, raise human rights concerns, or invoke any other treaty defense. The court decides whether the legal conditions are satisfied.
A court ruling in favor of extradition is not the end. The final call rests with the Turkish Minister of Justice, who has discretion to approve or deny the surrender. A green light from the court can still produce a red light at the ministerial stage.
Provisional Arrest and the 40-Day Clock
In urgent cases, the US can ask Turkey to arrest a fugitive before the full extradition package is ready. Under Law No. 6706, a criminal judge of peace must authorize the provisional arrest within 24 hours of detention. From there, the arrest can last a maximum of 40 days. If the US has not submitted the complete formal extradition request and supporting documents within that window, the person must be released.
The US can also request an INTERPOL Red Notice, which alerts Turkish police to locate and provisionally arrest the person. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, and each member country applies its own law in deciding whether to act on one.6INTERPOL. View Red Notices In Turkey, a Red Notice can start the provisional arrest process, but a Turkish judge still has to authorize the detention.
What the Record Shows in Practice
Turkey has surrendered foreign nationals to the US on charges including murder, human trafficking, money laundering, and fraud. At least one request was denied because the statute of limitations had lapsed. The 40-day provisional arrest rule puts real pressure on American prosecutors: if the complete, translated extradition package does not arrive in time, the person goes free regardless of how strong the case is.
The highest-profile dispute between the two governments ran the other direction. After the failed military coup attempt in July 2016, Turkey asked the US to extradite Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish cleric living in Pennsylvania whom Ankara accused of orchestrating the plot. US officials said the evidence had to meet the treaty’s legal standards and traveled to Ankara to help Turkish counterparts assemble materials. The case stalled for years and became a serious source of diplomatic friction. Gülen died in Pennsylvania in October 2024 without being extradited. The episode showed that even with a working treaty, surrender between the two countries can grind to a halt when evidentiary rules and political dynamics push against each other.
If you are trying to assess whether a specific person is likely to be extradited from Turkey to the United States, the questions worth asking in order are: Is the person a Turkish citizen? Is the conduct a crime under Turkish law carrying at least a year in prison? Has the Turkish statute of limitations run? Does the charge carry a possible death sentence? And is the political backdrop one that is likely to make the Minister of Justice sign off at the end. The treaty answers the first legal question. The others decide what actually happens.