Türkiye renews extradition requests to Sweden and Finland: Minister

ANKARA

Türkiye renewed its requests for Sweden and Finland to extradite members of “terror groups” on July 6 after the countries reached a deal over the Nordic nations’ NATO membership bids, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on July 6.

The minister recalled that a mechanism of justice, security and intelligence was established between Türkiye, Sweden and Finland over a consensus reached at last week’s NATO summit.

Ankara resent the extradition request for the members of the illegal groups such as PKK, DHKP-C and FETÖ, which was rejected previously by the Nordic countries, the minister said.

There were other extradition demands which were not responded to by these countries, and Ankara send a reminder letter about these requests as well, he added.

Sweden and Finland have not responded to any of the extradition requests for terror suspects issued by Ankara so far, Bozdağ said stressing that these demands were in line with both the international and bilateral agreements. The evidence in these files was also complying with the international and bilateral standards, he noted.

A three-way agreement stipulated the Nordic states to support Türkiye’s fight against terror and cooperate for the extradition of demanded terror suspects.

“Finland and Sweden will address Türkiye’s pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly, taking into account information, evidence and intelligence provided by Türkiye, and establish necessary bilateral legal frameworks to facilitate extradition and security cooperation with Türkiye, in accordance with the European Convention on Extradition,” according to the memorandum the three countries signed on June 28.

The document noted that Türkiye, Finland and Sweden commit to establishing a joint, structured dialogue and cooperation mechanism at all levels of government, including between law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to enhance cooperation on counterterrorism, organized crime, and other common challenges as they so decide.

“As prospective NATO Allies, Finland and Sweden extend their full support to Türkiye against threats to its national security. To that effect, Finland and Sweden will not provide support to YPG/PYD, and the organization described as FETÖ in Türkiye,” said the deal.

Ankara had been complaining about Sweden and Finland’s stances in the fight against anti-Türkiye terrorism and said it could block the process of the two Nordic countries joining NATO if they failed to grant Türkiye’s demands for the extradition of terror suspects.

Türkiye, Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum on June 28 on the sidelines of the NATO leaders’ summit to meet concerns before Ankara gives a green light to Sweden and Finland’s NATO bid.

The consensus also addressed Türkiye’s expectation for the lifting of the weapons embargo and legal and de facto restrictions in its defense industry.