"Caliph of Cologne" Can Stay in Germany

A Cologne administrative court ruled on Wednesday that a controversial Turkish Islam fundamentalist leader can stay in Germany. The court ruled that Metin Kaplan, also known as the "Caliph of Cologne," could not be deported from Germany, despite the fact that he no longer had any right to asylum. The court said Kaplan had forfeited his right to asylum after his conviction and four-year prison sentence on charges of inciting murder. Nonetheless, the court said that Kaplan, who is wanted on murder charges in Turkey, could not be deported because there was no guarantee he would receive a fair trial and not face torture. In response to the ruling, German Interior Minister Otto Schily said he would continue to seek Kaplan’s deportation. Kaplan is the former leader of the "Caliphate State," an Islamist extremist organization that called for the overthrow of the German government and its replacement with Sharia law. The German government banned the organization in Dec. 2001.