Turkey Renews Extradition Requests With Sweden, Finland

If Sweden and Finland deny the requests, Turkey could block their NATO memberships

On Wednesday, Turkey renewed extradition requests with Sweden and Finland for individuals Ankara considers terror suspects.

The move came after Turkey signed a deal with the Nordic nations for Ankara to lift its objection to their NATO bids, but Turkish officials have said they could still block Sweden and Finland from joining NATO if they don’t fulfill the agreement.

“Accordingly, today we have renewed some requests that were rejected before, and reminded them of some requests that were not responded to,” Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said.

Turkey is seeking the extradition of suspected members of the Kurdish militant group PKK and people associated with the network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara accuses of attempting a coup in 2016.

Under the 10-part memorandum Turkey signed with Sweden and Finland last week, the Nordic nations agreed to address Turkey’s “pending deportation or extradition requests expeditiously and thoroughly.” They also agreed to “establish necessary bilateral legal frameworks to facilitate extradition and security cooperation with Turkey.”

On Tuesday, ambassadors from all 30 NATO members, including Turkey, signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, which sends their memberships to be approved by each nation’s legislature. Turkish officials have warned that Turkey’s parliament could refuse to endorse Sweden and Finland joining NATO if they don’t fulfill the obligations in the memorandum

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