Swedish prosecution says extradition of two people to Turkey impossible
“Given the obstacles to extradition, a hearing in the Supreme Court is not required,” the Authority said
The Swedish Prosecution Authority sent a notification to the Supreme Court that two Turkish citizens staying in the kingdom cannot be extradited, the Expressen reported Wednesday evening.
Turkey made a number of demands to ratify Sweden’s application for NATO membership. One such demand is the extradition of refugees charged with terrorism by Ankara. On October 5, representatives of the two countries met to discuss the application, with the Turkish side reiterating its demands for deportation of a number of specific individuals under Stockholm’s protection. This included two people suspected of ties with the Fethullah Gulen movement (FETO), which was accused of the 2016 coup attempt.
One of the people in question has refugee status and a permanent residence permit. He denies the charges of using the Bylock mobile app as a part of the FETO communication network and taking part in FETO meetings. According to the Swedish Prosecution Authority, the actions that this person is accused of are not criminal under Swedish law. Furthermore, this person will face prosecution should he return to Turkey, as he is seen as having opposition political views.
“Given the obstacles to extradition, a hearing in the Supreme Court is not required,” the Authority said.
The second man has a three-year residence permit and refugee status. In 2016, he was convicted in Turkey for “membership in a militant terrorist organization,” but he also denies using the Bylock app. The Prosecution Authority stated that this is not a crime in Sweden, even if the app is connected to a certain organization. Furthermore, the convict may face prosecution because Turkish authorities see him as a Gulen sympathizer.
On May 18, Sweden and Finland filed applications for accession to NATO, but the accession process was immediately blocked by Turkey, who demanded that the two countries declared Kurdish organizations terrorist, extradited any individuals accused of participation in the 2016 coup attempt, and withdrew bans on arms shipments to Ankara. On June 28, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, then-Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held negotiations ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid, which resulted in a memorandum which enables Stockholm and Helsinki to join the alliance. According to Erdogan, Sweden promised to extradite over 70 people involved in terrorist activities.
