2023-07-13 09:32:00
Sweden’s Supreme Court has halted the extradition to Turkey of two men who Ankara says are members of Muslim preacher Fethullah Gülen’s movement. The court said on Thursday that the evidence presented by Turkey that the two men were members of a “terrorist organization” was not sufficient. In addition, the two suspects have already been granted refugee status in Sweden.
The decision could reignite the dispute over Sweden’s NATO membership. Alongside Hungary, Turkey is the only one of the 31 NATO countries whose parliament has not yet ratified Sweden’s act of accession to the military alliance. Ankara had blocked the Scandinavian country’s accession since last year on the grounds that the country was a haven for “terrorists,” meaning in particular members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and supporters of the Gülen movement.
In exchange for Ankara’s final approval of Sweden’s admission to NATO, the Scandinavian country signed a “security pact” with Turkey and promised regular meetings and a “continued fight against terrorism”. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that the parliament in Ankara could only ratify Sweden’s NATO accession after the summer break and thus in October at the earliest.
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