A Swedish minister told state television today, Saturday, that her country had deported a man to Turkey, accused of having links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
This comes at a time when Ankara continues to urge Stockholm to meet its demands in exchange for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The man had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after he was sentenced in Turkey to six years and ten months in prison after being found guilty of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The Swedish Migration Agency rejected his last asylum request last year.
Migration Minister Maria Malmer Steinergaard told Swedish television that the government had no hand in the decision.
“This is about the case of deporting a person whose asylum application was rejected… The government has no role in deciding asylum applications,” she added.
Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) said the man was transferred to a prison in Istanbul on Saturday.
Last May, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO. But Turkey, which has accused the two countries of harboring militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other groups, objected to the request.
Turkey said on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland had made progress toward NATO membership, but that they needed to do more to meet Ankara’s demands to tackle armed groups.
#Sweden #extradites #wanted #man #Turkey
