US rebukes Germany for deporting Islamic militant to Turkey

The United States sharply rebuked Germany on Thursday for deporting a wanted Islamic militant to Turkey instead of extraditing him to New York to stand trial on terror-related charges.

Adem Yilmaz, a Turkish citizen, has been charged by a US federal grand jury with conspiring to carry out a 2008 suicide bombing in Afghanistan, which left two US soldiers dead and 11 others injured.

Yilmaz, also known as Ebu Talha, was deported to Turkey recently after serving 11 years in a German prison for his role in planning large-scale attacks in Germany.

The United States had demanded that Yilmaz be handed over to face the charges against him brought in New York.

Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said he was "gravely disappointed" by Germany's decision to deport Yilmaz to Turkey rather than extradite him to the United States.

"The German government deliberately helped Yilmaz escape justice by placing him on a plane to Turkey," Whitaker said in a sharply-worded statement.

"The German government has refused to take any responsibility for failing to extradite him to the United States, has flouted their treaty obligations and has undermined the rule of law," the acting attorney general said.

CNN reported that US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan complained about the move during a "tense meeting" at the State Department on Wednesday with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Germany's ambassador to the United States, Emily Haber.

A German foreign ministry source said the deportation of Yilmaz to Turkey was a "decision of the independent justice system" and was made "in compliance with the standards of the rule of law."