Sweden is to tighten the terror laws amid NATO’s opposition to Turkey
Sweden announced a new crackdown on terrorism on Thursday as it struggles to convince Turkey it has a tough enough stance to go along with it NATO.
Anyone who takes part in the activities of an extremist group would be punishable under the new law, even if there is no link to a specific terrorist offence, and prison sentences would also be increased.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said the threat level had increased after far-right figure Rasmus Paludan burned a Koran in Stockholm.
That incident put further strain on relations with Turkey, which said that Sweden could not join NATO if it tolerates burning the Koran.
Turkey has for months demanded that Sweden and Finland take a tougher line against terrorism, particularly against Kurdish militants, before approving their NATO applications.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has elections coming up in May, has publicly and privately indicated that he is more satisfied with Finland’s efforts than Sweden’s.
A poll suggested on Thursday that people in Finland would support joining NATO only if Turkey does not give in to its objections to Sweden.
When asked “if Finland should wait for Sweden”, only 28 percent of Finns answered that it should, while 53 percent said that it should not, according to opinion polling company Taloustutkimus.
Finland’s government has so far opposed that idea, saying the two countries share a common security landscape and should merge.
Hungary, the only other Nato member that has yet to approve Sweden’s and Finland’s applications, said this week that Sweden should “act differently” if it wants Turkish support.
Sweden and Finland turned the page on decades of military non-alignment after the invasion of Ukraine past Russiawhich has a 1,340 kilometer long land border with Finland.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was to hold talks with his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin in Stockholm later on Thursday.
The two countries pledged to Turkey that they would increase their efforts to fight terrorism in a three-way agreement signed in June.
The new Swedish bill would “significantly strengthen” Sweden’s powers to fight terrorism, Strommer said, though he stopped short of saying it could influence Turkey’s thinking.
“This is a far-reaching law that covers basically all cases of participation in this type of activity,” he said.
“The current law requires that an activity must be linked to a particular act of terrorism to be illegal, but this law is focused on participation, making it much broader and more powerful.”
Mr Strommer said the Koran-burning incident had made Sweden a potential terrorist target and led to “clearer and stronger rhetoric”.
Germany on Wednesday closed its consulate in Istanbul for three days due to security fears. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu condemned such travel warnings on Thursday, saying they would harm tourism.
Updated: February 2, 2023, 1:55 p.m