Turkey says Swedish decision not to investigate protest ‘absurd’
In Sweden, a newspaper reported that a prosecutor has decided not to open a criminal investigation into the hanging of a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Stockholm, saying no illegal act was committed. Chamber prosecutor Lucas Eriksson told Sweden’s tabloid Aftonbladet about the decision.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu disagreed, saying the protest amounted to racism and hate crimes.
“The decision not to investigate the (Swedish) accusation is extremely absurd,” Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with the visiting Iranian foreign minister. “This was a racist incident that constitutes a hate crime. Therefore (the decision not to prosecute, investigate) also violates universal law and is a crime under international law.”
“If Sweden thinks it is pulling us together with these puns, I would say they are kidding themselves,” he said.
Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland abandoned their long-standing policy of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO in May. All 30 member states must agree to admit the two Nordic neighbors into the security organization.
The Turkish government has pressed Finland and Sweden to crack down on Kurdish exiles it accuses of having links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party and groups it considers terrorist organizations, and to extradite people suspected of terror-related crimes. Cavusoglu said last month that Sweden was not even “halfway” in addressing his country’s concerns.
Pictures posted on social media showed a mannequin resembling Erdogan hanging upside down. A group calling itself the Swedish Solidarity Committee for Rojava claimed it was behind the protest. Rojava is a Kurdish name for northern and eastern Syria.
Last week, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called the protest an “act of sabotage” against Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
Ankara’s chief prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the incident following a criminal complaint filed by Erdogan’s lawyers and has sent a formal request for information and evidence from Swedish authorities.