Politics
2022.08.12 11:30 GMT+8

Sweden agrees to extradite man to Türkiye in wake of NATO deal

Updated 2022.08.12 11:30 GMT+8
CGTN

Sweden's government has decided to extradite a man to Türkiye wanted for fraud, it said on Thursday, the first case since Türkiye demanded a number of people extradited in return for allowing Stockholm to formally apply for NATO membership.

NATO ally Türkiye lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden's bid to join the Western alliance in June after weeks of tense negotiations where Ankara accused the two Nordic countries of harboring what Türkiye says are militants of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

As part of the deal, Türkiye submitted a list of people it wanted Sweden to extradite, but has since expressed frustration over the lack of progress.

The man, in his 30s, would be the first known case of an extradition to Türkiye since the deal was struck.

"This is a normal routine matter. The person in question is a Turkish citizen and convicted of fraud offenses in Turkey in 2013 and 2016," Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson told Reuters in a text message.

"The Supreme Court has examined the issue as usual and concluded that there are no obstacles to extradition," he said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice declined to say if the man was on the list of people Türkiye has demanded to have extradited or to provide further comment on the matter.

Swedish broadcaster SVT, which was first to report on the extradition, said the man was sentenced in Türkiye to 14 years in prison on several accounts of bank card fraud.

(Cover: A street view of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, November 3, 2020. /Xinhua)

Source(s): Reuters
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