Huseyin Baybasin, the 69-year-old former boss of the Hackney Bombers organised crime group, will learn within weeks whether he is to be freed from prison in the Netherlands. Baybasin, once dubbed Europe's Pablo Escobar, was jailed for life for complicity in murders and drug trafficking, but a court has heard that a decision on his release will be made before March.
Baybasin's gang, the Hackney Bombers, has been locked in a long-running feud with rivals the Tottenham Turks. The violence has led to more than a dozen murders, a series of kidnappings, and the shooting of a nine-year-old girl outside the Evin restaurant in Dalston, east London, last May. The girl was hit by a stray bullet and left fighting for her life.
The administrative court in Utrecht recently rejected Baybasin's application for a temporary identity document, which he claimed he needed for his release. The judge ruled that he could not be issued with the papers because he is living in the Netherlands unlawfully. Baybasin is unable to go on unescorted leave due to a lack of transparency about which country he can go to after his release; his lawyers have said another European country has agreed to take him but have refused to disclose which one.
Baybasin has been in custody in the Netherlands since 1998. His lawyer, Adèle van der Plas, told the court: 'There's a systematic delay here. We're completely dependent on the Ministry of Justice and Security, which is extremely reluctant to cooperate with his release.' Baybasin himself said: 'I've been in this country for three decades now, I will continue my fight.' He has always denied the charges and claims the Netherlands was pressured by Turkish authorities to detain him.
In 2023, after 25 years of imprisonment, the Advisory Board for Life Sentenced Prisoners approved him to begin a programme to gradually reintegrate into society. A decision on his pardon will be made by March at the latest, based on how his reintegration has progressed. If released, he will not be permitted to remain in the Netherlands and is not welcome in his native Turkey. Baybasin's brothers, Abdullah and Mehmet, were also involved in the gang; Mehmet is currently serving a 30-year sentence in a UK prison for attempting to import 40 tonnes of cocaine.
