Graeme Hall defeats Turkish extradition request for allegations of serious sexual offending

Graeme Hall has successfully defeated a request for the extradition of a British national teacher accused of sexually abusing a 4 year old pupil in Turkey.

District Judge McGarva discharged Graeme’s client on the basis that extradition posed serious risks to his client’s mental health, including suicide. In so doing, the judge preferred the defence’s psychiatric expert evidence of Dr Richard Latham to the prosecution’s expert psychiatrist, and also relied on the evidence from a leading expert on Turkish prison conditions, Dr Julia Kozma.

The judge noted that while the merits of the underlying allegations were not a matter for the English courts, the Turkish prosecution’s case was “concerning” given that inter alia the complainant was interviewed in a manner which failed to accord with best practice, including the use of leading questions; allegations made by the complainant and her family that the requested person had abused an additional 15 pupils were not supported by any other pupil; and, the injuries relied on by the Turkish prosecution allegedly to demonstrate sexual abuse were, according to the defence expert evidence, readily explained by poor hygiene. 

The case has been widely reported in the press, and an interview with Graeme’s client can be found in the Telegraph (£).

Graeme Hall was instructed by Rhona Friedman of Commons Solicitors. Rhona has been instructed in the case since the allegations were first made in 2019. Rhona provided crucial advice and representation throughout the Turkish investigation and trial, as well as before Interpol and the English extradition court.