On Thursday, Sweden’s top court denied Turkey’s request for the extradition of two Turkish citizens that Ankara says are part of a terrorist group.
The Court cited legal obstacles obstructing the extradition process in both instances. For extradition to occur, the act that forms the basis for the request must be considered a criminal offense in both Turkey and Sweden.
Sweden’s government decides on extradition requests and has the final say. But the country’s Supreme Court said there were legal obstacles to agreeing to Turkey’s request in this case.
“It is a kind of advisory statement from the Supreme Court, but if the Supreme Court said that extradition cannot happen because there are legal challenges that contradict it, the government is not allowed to extradite the person,” Justice of the Supreme Court, Cecilia Renfors told Reuters.
The court said in a statement that in Turkey’s view, the two committed a criminal act by joining the Gulen movement via a mobile application used by its members.
These actions alone did not equate to participation in a terrorist organization under Swedish law, the court said, adding that extradition must be based on actions that constitute a crime in both Sweden and Turkey.
Another obstacle is that the two people were at risk of persecution in Turkey, it said. Hundreds of people were jailed in Turkey after the 2016 coup attempt based on evidence that they had downloaded the app on their phones.
A spokesperson for the Swedish prime minister declined to comment and a justice minister spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Turkish foreign ministry was not immediately available.
Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, abandoning policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the Cold War.
Turkey has held up ratification of Sweden’s bid. Ankara accuses Stockholm of doing too little to deal with people Turkey sees as terrorists, with extradition a key sticking point.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday unexpectedly agreed to put Sweden’s NATO bid to the country’s parliament after months of delays.
Turkey is seeking the extradition of two Turkish citizens from Sweden on accusations they are part of the Gulen movement, which it designates a terrorist organization. Turkey says US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen was behind a coup attempt in 2016.
