The Finnish Parliament Speaker Matti Vanhanen said his country cannot extradite PKK terrorists, as he called them “innocent people,” despite the fact that the PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
“Innocent people cannot be extradited to another country, especially if there is a risk that they could be imprisoned,” Vanhanen said, as Turkish officials note they will not approve Helsinki’s NATO bid if it continues to support terrorist groups posing a threat to Turkey’s national security.
Vanhanen’s remarks came after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto held phone conversations and the country’s foreign minister said they may give Ankara security assurances to monitor the PKK terrorists’ activities in a closer manner.
The parliament speaker, who also happens to be a former prime minister of Finland, said the country will not extradite PKK terrorists to Turkey.
Last week, Turkey’s Justice Ministry said Sweden and Finland rejected Ankara’s request for the extradition of people with links to the PKK and Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ),
Both of the Nordic countries rejected the extradition of 19 terrorists and did not respond to Turkey's request for five others.
Turkey requested the extradition of six FETÖ and six PKK suspects from Finland based on court rulings in the past five years.
The extradition process for nine terrorists, including two in Finland and seven in Sweden, is still ongoing.
Turkey had voiced reservations about the membership of Sweden and Finland, saying that the two countries have been acting as safe havens for terrorist organizations, including the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG.
Turkey has not shut the door on Sweden and Finland joining NATO and is willing to negotiate with the countries if they agree to clamp down on domestic terrorist activities and end their support of the PKK.
After having informal talks with Turkey on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Berlin, Sweden has announced it will send a diplomatic delegation to Turkey to discuss the country joining the alliance as well as Turkey’s concerns about its support to the PKK terrorist organization.
