The Bucharest Court of Appeal has rejected a request from Turkish authorities to extradite an underworld figure accused of belonging to a criminal gang that carried out armed attacks in Istanbul against rivals using pistols and automatic weapons.
In December 2025, the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Court of Appeal notified judges of the request filed by the Criminal Court for Serious Crimes No. 16 Istanbul for the extradition of Firat Gunes, internationally wanted as a member of the 'Daltonlar' faction of the gang led by notorious Turkish mobster Baris Boyun.
At the time of the court's notification, Firat Gunes had already been located in Romania, where he was in pre-trial detention in a criminal case investigated by local authorities for aiding and abetting.
According to court documents, Turkish prosecutors allege that between October 10 and November 11, 2023, Gunes, as a member of the 'Daltonlar' group, helped organize and support armed attacks in Istanbul using illegally possessed firearms, including AK-47 rifles and 9-mm pistols.
Prosecutors also cite recordings of phone conversations between Gunes and another gang member discussing a stolen motorcycle used in one attack and later dumped in the Sazlibosna Dam near Istanbul. Gunes is further accused of illegally possessing and carrying firearms and ammunition to advance the group's objectives.
Although Romanian judges acknowledged that the documents from Türkiye provided a clear account of the charges, they rejected the extradition request last week, citing Gunes's serious health condition - "a severe gunshot wound previously suffered in Türkiye," with gastric, intestinal and colic perforations and kidney damage that required major surgery.
The court also invoked harsh detention conditions in Turkish prisons and the alleged arbitrary use of organized-crime accusations to suppress dissent.
"This objective and current information substantiates the fear that the extraditable person would not benefit from the necessary protection for his physical integrity, especially since he has already been the victim of extreme armed violence in the requesting state. In this context, the formal guarantees offered are devoid of substance given the documented risk that he will not receive the post-operative care and immunological monitoring indispensable for survival," the judges argued, according to court documents.
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