Sweden Agrees to Extradite First Man Wanted in Turkey in the Wake of NATO Deal

In return for accepting the NATO bids of Sweden and Finland, Ankara has demanded that a number of people be extradited from the Nordic countries over alleged ties with Kurdish groups that Turkey considers terrorist organizations.

The Swedish government has decided to extradite a man in his 30s who is wanted for fraud in Turkey.

Justice Minister Morgan Johansson called the case a “routine matter”, explaining that the person in question is a Turkish citizen and convicted of fraud offenses in Turkey in 2013 and 2016. The man applied for asylum in Sweden in 2011 and a protected status in 2022, yet had both applications rejected by the Migration Board.

“The Supreme Court has examined the issue as usual and concluded that there are no obstacles to extradition,” Johansson said, as quoted by national broadcaster SVT.

According to SVT, the man was sentenced in Turkey to 14 years in prison on several counts of bank card fraud. The man, who has been detained in Sweden since last year, claimed he had been sentenced wrongfully because he is a convert to Christianity, refused to do military service, and has Kurdish roots.

However, this extradition move is the first one since Turkey demanded that a number of people be extradited in return for allowing Stockholm and Helsinki to formally apply for NATO membership.

According to SVT, the man's name is among those listed in the Turkish wanted list presented in connection with the NATO negotiations. Nevertheless, the court found that nothing has emerged to indicate that the man is at risk of being persecuted in Turkey.

Sweden's former ambassador to Turkey, Michael Sahlin, questioned whether the timing is a coincidence, even though the Swedish government called it a “routine matter.”

“I would say that the timing is very well thought out,” Sahlin told SVT.

He also emphasized that it will be a tough balancing act for Magdalena Andersson's government.

“There will be negotiations on how we will implement this in a way that Turkey can accept, but which must also be politically viable for Sweden. It is a Swedish election campaign and there is a limit to how big concessions can be made on such sensitive issues,” Sahlin added.

Paul T. Levin, director of the Institute for Turkish Studies at Stockholm University, believes that the extradition case will be presented as a victory in Turkey.

“But I can also imagine that they won't be satisfied because they had requested a larger number of people extradited,” Levin mused in an interview with SVT.

Turkey, a NATO member which boasts the bloc's second-largest military, trailing only the US, lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden’s bid to join it in June only after weeks of strained negotiations. Previously, Ankara accused the two Nordic countries of harboring what it sees are fighters of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its associates. Turkey has since submitted a list of people wanted for extradition, yet has voiced its dismay over the apparent lack of progress.