Sweden and Finland have not handed over a single terrorist suspect since a NATO agreement was signed, says Ankara
Sweden and Finland will not become NATO members if they continue to ignore Ankara’s extradition demands, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has said.
“Until now, none of the persons accused of terrorism, whose extradition from Sweden and Finland has been requested by Turkey, has been returned.” Bozdag told reporters on Saturday.
“Our expectation is not about those accused of fraud. The Swedish and Finnish governments should understand this very well.”
Bozdag said that the process of Sweden and Finland joining NATO “won’t take a step forward” unless the matter is resolved.
Turkey agreed to formally support the two Nordic states’ invitation to join the US-led military bloc in June on the condition that they would not support organizations that Ankara views as terrorist groups. Turkey has since stated that Sweden and Finland have failed to respect this agreement.
READ MORE: Sweden must extradite Turkish man after NATO agreement
Ankara has requested the extradition of 33 people accused of terrorism, according to the country’s media. The Swedish government, meanwhile, said this month it would extradite a man convicted of credit card fraud.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said in June that Stockholm handles extraditions to Turkey in accordance with international and European law. She added that Sweden does not support people who pose a threat to Turkish security.
Source: sn.dk