Sweden has extradited a member of the PKK terrorist group and its umbrella organization, KCK, to Türkiye on Friday.
Mahmut Tat was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison in 2015 on charges of being a member of the PKK terror organization. He applied for asylum in Sweden because of his sentence but was denied.
Tat was taken to a detention center in Molndal. After completing procedures he was sent to Türkiye by plane.
Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
But Türkiye – a NATO member for more than 70 years – voiced objections to their membership bids, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups.
Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum in June at a NATO summit to address Ankara's legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.
Under the memorandum, Finland and Sweden extend their full support to Türkiye countering threats to its national security. To that effect, Helsinki and Stockholm are not to provide support to the PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoots, the YPG and the PYD, or the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) – the group behind the attempted 2016 coup in Türkiye.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have warned that Türkiye will not give the nod to the memberships of Sweden and Finland until the memorandum is implemented.
Unanimous consent from all 30 existing allied countries is required for a country to join NATO.
