ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Sweden’s Supreme Court approved the extradition of a supporter of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to Turkey, one of Ankara’s main conditions to ratify Stockholm’s NATO accession, Swedish media reported on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old man was sentenced to prison for over four years in Turkey in 2014 for transporting a bag of cannabis, and after being released on parole, he moved to Sweden where he was arrested last year after a request from the Attorney General’s Office in Turkey, according to Swedish broadcaster SVT.
The broadcaster, citing reports by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, added that the man claims the reason he is wanted by Turkish authorities is because of his affiliation to the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and for conveying his support to the outlawed PKK. Ankara considers the group as a terrorist organization.
According to the report, the court stated in its decision that the Swedish attorney general had received reassurances from Turkey that the man was not being persecuted for the crimes of “propaganda for a terrorist organization” or “insulting the Turkish president.”
The final decision for the extradition now lies with the Swedish government. This is the first time the country’s top court has taken such a decision as Stockholm rushes to become a NATO member.
On June 1, a new law came into force prosecuting the crime of “participation in a terrorist organization,” likely to appease Turkey.
Sweden and Finland submitted a joint bid to enter NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, the bid faced an obstinate Turkish refusal. Accession requires a unanimous decision of the members, a condition Turkey used as leverage to pressure both countries in dealing with Kurds with alleged ties to the PKK.
Finland was ratified as a member in April but Ankara continues to block Sweden from joining.
Both Finland and Sweden had initially said last year that they would not extradite those wanted by Turkey.
On Sunday, Finnish MP Ville Valkonen told Rudaw’s Zana Kayani that “Finland deals with every individual according to Finnish laws, not foreign requests” when asked whether Helsinki would fulfill Turkish requests for extradition.
“The Kurdish issue will be dealt with according to our diplomatic positions and NATO-membership has no direct effect on it,” he added.
On Sunday, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Sweden had addressed Turkey’s security concerns and “implemented the agreement” they had reached in previous rounds of talks.
He said he believes there is “still time” for Sweden to be a NATO member at the July summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Both NATO and Sweden are in a rush against time to ensure the ratification takes place before the summit.
Turkey, Sweden, and NATO are set to meet next week for further talks.
Erdogan has repeatedly accused Sweden of harbouring and supporting groups including the PKK. As part of its demands, Turkey is seeking the extradition of PKK members in Sweden, with Erdogan saying that there are as many as 130 there.
In December, Sweden extradited a Kurdish refugee, Mahmut Tat, to Turkey for alleged links to the PKK. However in the same month, a Swedish court blocked the extradition of Turkish journalist Bulent Kenes, despite being named by Erdogan as one of the people wanted.
