• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Turkey

Türkiye Renews Extradition Requests With Sweden and Finland

  • Turkish flag in a port.

    Turkish flag in a port. | Photo: Twitter/ @Deccan_Cable

Published 7 July 2022
Opinion

Before joining NATO, Finland and Sweden agreed to address Türkiye's pending extradition requests of terror suspects "expeditiously and thoroughly."

On Wednesday, Türkiye renewed its extradition requests for "terror suspects" with Finland and Sweden, following a deal it made with the Nordic countries for their NATO bid.

RELATED:

NATO Allies Sign Accession Protocols for Sweden and Finland

"Today we have renewed some requests that were rejected before and reminded them of some requests that were not responded to," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said, adding that the two countries previously did not respond to any of Türkiye's extradition requests for "terror suspects" although they were in line with both the international and bilateral agreements.

"Within the framework of the agreement signed between Türkiye, Sweden, and Finland at the latest NATO summit, a monitoring committee was established," he said.

Their accession process to NATO was initially blocked by Türkiye, which accused the Nordic countries of "supporting" anti-Turkey terrorist groups as they rejected Türkiye's extradition requests for suspects affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over three decades. 

The Gulen movement is led by the U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is regarded by his followers as a spiritual leader. The Turkish government accused the movement of masterminding the 2016 failed coup in which at least 250 people were killed.

On June 28, Türkiye, Sweden and Finland agreed on a memorandum of understanding before Ankara lifted its veto ahead of the NATO Madrid summit. In the memorandum, Finland and Sweden pledged to support Türkiye's fight against terrorism, and agreed to address Türkiye's "pending deportation or extradition requests of terror suspects expeditiously and thoroughly."

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.