Sweden will extradite a Turkish citizen wanted by Ankara, the country said Thursday, but rejected another request, with extraditions being one of Türkiye's key demands to ratify Stockholm's NATO membership.
Türkiye has accused Sweden of providing a safe haven for dozens of suspects that belong to terrorist groups like the PKK/YPG and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which was behind the failed 2016 coup attempt that left 251 dead in Türkiye.
In a historic turnaround, Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine.
After months of delay, Ankara ratified Finland's membership last month, enabling it to become a full member of the defense alliance this week.
But Ankara and Budapest have refused to ratify Sweden's bid following a series of disputes and primarily security concerns raised by Türkiye.
Sweden's justice ministry said Thursday it had agreed to the extradition of Ömer Altun, a 29-year-old Turkish citizen sentenced last year by a Turkish court to 15 years in prison.
The ministry said the extradition was only agreed on the condition that Altun would be granted a retrial upon his return to Türkiye.
The decision, a copy of which was obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and was dated March 30, came after Sweden's Supreme Court gave the green light for the extradition.
"The government shares the Supreme Court's assessment that there is nothing blocking the extradition of Omer Altun to Türkiye," it said.
Stockholm has stressed that its judiciary is independent and has the final say in extraditions.
The government did, however, reject an extradition request concerning 51-year-old Mehmet Zakir Karayel, a Swedish citizen of Turkish origin whom Ankara suspects of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, according to documents from the Swedish justice ministry.
Under Swedish law, "a Swedish citizen cannot be extradited," it wrote.
The Scandinavian country has extradited at least two Turkish citizens in the past year but rejected requests for several others, including one for fugitive suspect Bülent Keneş, the former editor-in-chief of the Today's Zaman daily and a suspected member of FETÖ.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the extradition of terrorists is a must for Sweden if it wants the right to join NATO.
