There is no reason to speculate that Sweden’s Supreme Court blocking the extradition of a Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) member to Türkiye would impact the Nordic country’s NATO accession, according to Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.
Speaking to Swedish state media TT ahead of his visit to Ankara on Wednesday, Billström conceded that it was “natural” for the Turkish side to intervene in trials for the extradition of terrorists Ankara is demanding from Stockholm.
NATO member Türkiye has been holding up bids by Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance, pressing for the two nations to crack down on terrorist groups and return suspects wanted in Türkiye, namely members of FETÖ and the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian wing YPG.
When Sweden and Finland dropped their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for NATO membership in May, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promptly said his country would not accept them and accused the two Nordic countries of turning a blind eye to terrorism.
In a move criticized as a “very negative” development by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Sweden’s top court on Monday dismissed a request to extradite a terror suspect wanted by Türkiye, saying the crime the person is alleged for is “not criminalized" in the Scandinavian country.
The court said that there were “obstacles to extradition because it is a matter of so-called political crimes, for example, crimes that are directed against the state and that are political in nature.” The court did not name the suspect in line with Swedish policy.
However, the TT said the suspect was Bülent Keneş and that Ankara claims he was a member of the FETÖ, which was responsible for the failed coup attempt in Türkiye in 2016. Last month, Erdoğan had singled out Keneş during a joint news conference with the Swedish prime minister in Ankara.
“We believe we must be clear about how the system works with the way Sweden handles these cases,” Billström said Wednesday.
He promised Swedish government officials “cannot control” court rulings, saying, “Swedish courts that manage extraditions are subject to international law, including the European Convention of criminal extradition, which was also signed by Türkiye."
If the question is ever raised, Billström added, it should be known that the Turkish government is “very well-informed about how these systems work."
“The most important message we’re taking to Ankara is the reinforcing of our efforts in the fight against the terrorist group PKK through new legislations. When Sweden and Finland become members, both NATO and Türkiye will be able to feel much safer,” the Swedish diplomat assured.
The final say on Keneş’s extradition is up to the Swedish government, which reserves the right to take the case to the International Court of Arbitration (ICC).
Türkiye has repeatedly expressed it expects "not kind words but concrete steps" from Sweden and Finland when it comes to addressing its security concerns.
Billström is due to meet with Çavuşoğlu today for a series of discussions on bilateral ties and the tumultuous NATO membership process.
