Sweden insists on legal independence in Turkey’s extradition decision
STOCKHOLM: Sweden insisted on Thursday that all decisions regarding the possible extradition of alleged Kurdish militants and suspects of coup plots to Turkey would be made by “independent courts”.
“In Sweden, Swedish law is applied by independent courts. Swedish citizens are not extradited. Non-Swedish citizens can be extradited at the request of other countries, but only if it is compatible with Swedish law and the European Convention, says Minister of Justice Morgan Johansson in a written statement to AFP.
On Wednesday, Turkey had said it would request the extradition of alleged Kurdish militants and coup suspects from Sweden and Finland under an agreement to secure Ankara’s support for the Nordic countries’ offer of NATO membership.
And on Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan(pix) told both Sweden and Finland that he could still block their efforts to join NATO if they failed to implement the agreement.
In his statement, Johansson insisted that it was Sweden’s Supreme Court that makes that review and has a veto. That system is still valid. It is clear from the agreement that we comply with the European Convention on Extradition, which Sweden, Finland and Turkey have signed. “
Erdogan issued his straightforward warning at the end of a NATO summit in which the US-led alliance formally invited the Nordic countries to join the 30-nation bloc.
The two nations put down their history of military freedom of alliance and announced plans to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Their bid was on track for rapid approval until Erdogan expressed concern in May.
He accused the two of providing a refuge for banned Kurdish militants and promoting “terrorism”.
Erdogan also demanded that they lift arms embargoes imposed in response to Turkey’s military invasion of Syria in 2019.
A 10-point memorandum signed by the three sides alongside the NATO summit on Tuesday seemed to address many of Erdogan’s concerns.
Erdogan raised his objections and then held a warm meeting with US President Joe Biden, which was followed by a promise to sell new fighter jets to Turkey.
Nevertheless, Erdogan told reporters at an impromptu press conference held at the end of the summit that the memorandum did not mean that Turkey would automatically approve the two countries’ membership.
Applications from new countries must be approved by all members and ratified by their respective parliaments.
Erdogan warned that the future behavior of Sweden and Finland would determine whether he forwarded their application to the Turkish parliament for ratification.
“If they fulfill their duties, we will send it to Parliament. If they are not fulfilled, it is out of the question,” he said.
A Western diplomatic source in the corridors of the NATO summit accused Erdogan of engaging in “blackmail”.AFP