STOCKHOLM: Sweden has agreed to extradite Omer Altun, a 29-year-old Turkish citizen who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud by a Turkish court, according to a decision by Sweden’s justice ministry.
The decision came after Sweden’s Supreme Court gave the green light for the extradition, which was granted on the condition that Turkish citizen Altun would be granted a retrial upon his return to Turkey.
However, the government rejected another extradition request concerning 51-year-old Mehmet Zakir Karayel, a Swedish citizen whom Ankara suspects of being a member of an “armed terrorist organization.”
The issue of extraditions has been a key demand from Ankara to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership, with Turkey accusing Sweden of providing a safe haven for several suspects it believes are linked to a failed 2016 coup attempt and a decades-long Kurdish fight for an independent state. Sweden has repeatedly stressed that its judiciary is independent and has the final say in extraditions.
In the past year, Sweden has extradited at least two Turkish citizens but rejected requests for several others, including one for the former editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, whom Turkey accuses of being involved in a 2016 attempt to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Sweden bid for NATO membership
Sweden and Finland recently abandoned their longstanding policies of military non-alliance and applied to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. Ankara ratified Finland’s membership last month, enabling it to become a full member of the defence alliance this week.
The issue of extraditions has been a contentious one between Turkey and its NATO allies, with Ankara accusing some member countries of harbouring supporters of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for the coup attempt.
The issue has strained relations between Turkey and several NATO allies, including the US, Germany and the Netherlands.
