Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç has announced that a teenager accused of causing a fatal car accident in İstanbul and fleeing to the US can be extradited to Turkey along with his mother based on a recent ruling from a US judge, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The decision by the US federal judge in Massachusetts concerns Timur Cihantimur, who is accused of driving without a license in İstanbul in March 2024 and causing a crash that killed 29-year-old Oğuz Murat Aci and injured four others. Following the accident, Cihantimur and his mother, Eylem Tok, a novelist and poet, flew to Egypt and then to the United States. Turkish authorities have requested their extradition.
Cihantimur was 17 years old at the time of the accident.
Tunç announced the decision of the US judge concerning Cihantimur and his mother on X on Tuesday, adding that Turkey would continue to take the necessary steps regarding the extradition of the suspects from the US for the “delivery of justice.”
US Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell in Boston rejected arguments that Tok and her son, Cihantimur, had not been charged with extraditable offenses, clearing the way for the US State Department to consider turning them over.
The court’s decision is not final, and further legal action by Tok and her son could delay their extradition. The US State Department will decide the issue.
David Russcol, Tok’s lawyer, said her attorneys were evaluating their options for further judicial review. Her son’s lawyer, Martin Weinberg, said the ruling raised important issues concerning whether the juvenile could be extradited despite the lack of a formal criminal charge, according to Reuters.
Tok opposes her extradition, has moved to dismiss the complaint and seeks release from custody during the extradition proceedings, according to the Massachusetts court.
Tok and her son were arrested earlier in June pursuant to an extradition request from Turkey as they were about to tour an expensive private school in Boston.
Victim’s family happy about court decision
Aci’s parents, who spoke to Anadolu, said they were happy about the US court’s decision, adding that this was the result of their struggle to get justice for their son.
“We have begun to reap the fruits of our struggle, which we will continue. Their capture, imprisonment and extradition to Turkey are all a part of it. This is an encouraging development and it has put our hearts at ease,” father Özer Aci said.
Pervin Aci, the mother, said she would welcome Tok and her son at the airport on the day of their extradition from the US to look in Tok’s face and ask what kind of a mother she is, having helped her son to evade justice.
The parents said they hope they will get a fair trial in Turkey and get the punishment they deserve.