The Swedish government argued that the extradition has nothing to do with the country’s NATO membership and Ankara’s demands.
The man to be extradited to Turkey is 35 years old and, as it became known in Stockholm, he had been sentenced to prison terms in Turkey in 2013 and 2016 for financial crimes related to the use of debit and credit cards. According to Sweden’s public television (SVT), he denies the charges and maintains that he was in fact convicted on religious grounds as a Christian, but also because he had attempted to avoid conscription. In 2011, as well as this year, the man had applied for asylum in Sweden, which was rejected by the competent authorities.
Sweden’s Supreme Court thoroughly examined the case and concluded that “there is no reason to oppose the extradition” of the 35-year-old. This is also stated by the Minister of Justice of Sweden, Morgan Johansson, in a written response to a related question from Swedish TV to add that “this is a routine case. The Turkish authorities had submitted a relevant request since the previous year.” In simple translation, the Minister of Justice makes it clear that the extradition of this person to Turkey has nothing to do with Sweden’s accession to NATO and Ankara’s threats to veto if the “terror suspects” residing in Sweden are not extradited.
In return for Turkey’s consent to NATO?
However, public Swedish television points out that for many years the government in Stockholm has not accepted any extradition request from Ankara. This will be the first time. And all of this has absolutely nothing to do with NATO membership?” Paul Levine, professor of international relations and head of the Stockholm Institute of Turkish Studies, says he doubts it. “If one really wants to activate Turkey’s ‘YES’, one has to prove in one way or another that the agreement between Turkey, Sweden and Finland is working,” says Paul Levine on German Radio (NDR). “For Turkey, the issue of extradition was very important. It would therefore not be surprising if there were other similar decisions.”
In any case, estimates Kurdish journalist Kurdo Baksi who lives permanently in Sweden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will use the Stockholm decision to draw political capital on the domestic front. “They will sell it as a ‘success story’ that they were able to bring back to Turkey a person who is hostile to Turkey,” Baksi told Swedish Radio (SR). In a memorandum signed by Sweden and Finland with Turkey in June, at the NATO summit in Madrid, the two northern countries pledge to examine “thoroughly and without delay” the extradition requests submitted by Ankara. Erdogan himself claims that Sweden has “promised” to extradite “73 terrorists”.
Release date unknown
It remains unknown when the 35-year-old will be extradited to Turkey. He has been in prison since last December. Within the month, a new meeting of the delegations of Turkey, Sweden and Finland is expected to be held to discuss the northward enlargement of NATO and Ankara’s misgivings. Most of the member states of the Atlantic Alliance have already fast-tracked the accession of Sweden and Finland. However, the same is not the case with Turkey…
DW / Sophie Donges (ARD) / Edited by: Yiannis Papadimitriou
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