Arrest on an international wanted notice almost always catches a person off guard, and the first thing lost is any sense of how much time there is. Below is the order set by Turkish law: what happens at each stage, which deadlines are hard ones, and at which point the most is decided.
How it all begins
A red notice is one state's request to locate a person and provisionally arrest them with a view to extradition. It is not a conviction, not a decision to extradite and not a warrant issued by a Turkish court. Interpol is not a party to extradition treaties and does not decide whether a person is extradited. Türkiye decides — under its own law and under its treaty with the requesting country.
The eight stages of the procedure
| 01 | Police custody. No more than twenty-four hours. The time needed to bring the person before a judge is counted on top of that period and may not exceed twelve hours. |
| 02 | The judge's first decision. Before the formal extradition request arrives, provisional arrest may be ordered. Judicial control may be applied instead — an obligation to report, surrender of the passport, a ban on leaving the country. Where there is no extradition treaty with the state and the case proceeds on the basis of reciprocity, provisional arrest is limited to forty days. If the request does not arrive in time, the measure is lifted. |
| 03 | Review of the request. The Ministry of Justice acts as the central authority: it examines the request, may call for further documents, and may reject a request that fails to meet the conditions — without referring it to a court. |
| 04 | The court. The case is heard by the heavy penal court at the person's place of residence; if that is unknown, by the court in Ankara. The court verifies the conditions for extradition under the law and the applicable treaty. No one may join such proceedings as an injured party. |
| 05 | Preventive measures during the proceedings. Detention is reviewed at least once every thirty days, and its total length may not exceed the sentence the person faces. |
| 06 | Cassation. The court's decision may be appealed; the Court of Cassation examines the appeal within three months. |
| 07 | The administrative stage. Having found extradition admissible, the court does not yet order it. Opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior are required, together with a proposal by the Minister of Justice and approval by the President of the Republic. A refusal is possible at this stage. If no extradition decision is taken within one year of the court's decision becoming final, the preventive measures are lifted. |
| 08 | Surrender. If the requesting state fails without good cause to take the person on the agreed date, the preventive measures are lifted thirty days later. |
Who may be extradited, and for what
Extradition concerns foreign nationals only: a Turkish citizen is not extradited. Sentencing thresholds apply. At the investigation or trial stage the offence must be punishable by imprisonment with an upper limit of at least one year — under the law of the requesting state and under Turkish law at the same time. Where a conviction has become final, the sentence imposed must be at least four months. And one rule that is often forgotten: after surrender the person may be tried only for the offences on which the extradition decision was based.
When the law prohibits extradition
There are several grounds for refusal, and they are set out expressly. Extradition is not permitted where there are serious reasons to suspect that the person will be prosecuted or subjected to ill-treatment on account of race, ethnic origin, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinions. No extradition takes place for political offences and offences connected with them, for purely military offences, for acts against the security of Türkiye and its nationals, or in matters falling within Turkish jurisdiction. Refusal also follows where the limitation period has expired or the act is covered by an amnesty, where a judgment has already been delivered in Türkiye for the same act, and where the penalty is the death penalty or another penalty incompatible with human dignity.
A separate ground is left to the court's discretion: extradition may be refused where, because of the person's individual circumstances — being under eighteen on the date of the request, long residence in Türkiye, being married — it would cause them or their family harm disproportionate to the gravity of the offence.
Three places where ground is most often lost
Consent in the first twenty-four hours. The judge is required to explain the possibility of extradition with the person's consent and its legal consequences. Consent moves the case into a simplified procedure and closes off both a full hearing and cassation. That explanation often comes before the person has had a chance to speak to defence counsel.
Confusing extradition with removal. While extradition proceedings are under way, the person cannot be removed from the country without an opinion from the Ministry of Justice. Nor can they be removed to the state whose extradition request was refused. But if a deportation decision has been issued in parallel, it carries its own short appeal deadline, and both proceedings have to be run at once.
"The court allowed it, so they will be handed over." They will not. Between the court's decision and actual surrender lies an administrative stage involving three ministries and requiring approval at the highest level.
Legal basis
The extradition procedure is established by the Law on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters No. 6706; the time limits for custody, arrest and judicial control are set by the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 5271. The periods and conditions above are stated as they appear in the texts of those laws in force.
This material is for general information. It contains no legal assessment of any specific situation and does not replace working with defence counsel on a case. The procedure and the time limits in an individual case depend on Türkiye's treaty with the state concerned and on the circumstances of the case.