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SWEDEN AND TURKEY

Sweden extradites first Turk since striking Nato deal

Sweden's government said on Thursday that it would hand over a Turkish citizen convicted of credit card fraud to Ankara, the first known extradition since Sweden struck a deal with Turkey promising to deal with extraditions "expeditiously and thoroughly".

Published: 11 August 2022 16:46 CEST
Sweden extradites first Turk since striking Nato deal
Swedens prime minister Magdalena Andersson meets Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Henrik Montgomery / TT

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to block both Sweden and Finland from NATO membership unless they meet several demands, including the extradition of people Ankara considers “terrorists”.

Erdogan accuses the two countries of being havens for Kurdish militants, specifically highlighting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The man facing extradition was identified in Swedish court documents as Okan Kale, and was convicted in Turkey of credit card fraud in 2013 and 2016.

He sought asylum in Sweden in 2011 but his request was denied. He was granted refugee status in Italy in 2014. Kale’s name features on a list published in Turkish media of people that Ankara wants extradited from Sweden.

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The justice ministry would however not comment on whether the man was on a list drawn up by Turkey. It noted that Ankara had sought his extradition in 2021 — long before the Stockholm’s application to join the North Atlantic alliance in May.

“This is a regular, routine matter,” justice ministry spokeswoman Angelica Vallgren told AFP. “The extradition request was received last year.”

Kale has been held in Swedish custody since December 2021.

In an agreement signed by Sweden and Finland at a NATO summit in Madrid in late June, the two countries agreed to examine Turkish extradition requests “expeditiously and thoroughly”.

Erdogan said Sweden had made a “promise” to extradite “73 terrorists”.

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SWEDEN AND GERMANY

What’s on the agenda for German chancellor’s visit to Sweden?

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Sweden to discuss security and business competitiveness with his Nordic colleagues on a two-day visit.

Published: 13 May 2024 14:25 CEST
What's on the agenda for German chancellor's visit to Sweden?

Scholz was to visit the Stockholm headquarters of telecommunications giant Ericsson on Monday, accompanied by the prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

They were to “discuss security policy issues such as hybrid threats, civil preparedness and new technologies,” the Swedish government said in a statement.

A press conference was to follow just before 6pm.

“At a dinner that evening, discussions will centre on continued support to Ukraine,” the government said, as Russian troops launched a major ground operation against Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region amid Kyiv’s struggles with Western aid delays.

The Nordic countries and Germany have been among Ukraine’s biggest donors since Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Berlin is the world’s second biggest donor to Ukraine, giving 14.5 billion euros so far, according to the Kiel Institute.

“Security policy and the upcoming Nato summit will top the agenda,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote in a piece published in financial daily Dagens Industri on Monday.

“Financial competitiveness issues” will also be discussed, he said, noting that “the Nordic region wants to play a key role in efforts to strengthen the European economy”.

On Tuesday, Kristersson and Scholz were scheduled to hold bilateral talks and visit the Norrsken Foundation, which supports young growth companies active in the green and digital transition.

Afterwards the two leaders were to sign a “strategic innovation partnership” between Germany and Sweden.

The visit was to be their first bilateral meeting since Sweden joined Nato in March 2024.

The next Nato summit will take place July 9th-11th in Washington.

“Sweden has, and must have, a clear international voice in the world,” Kristersson wrote in Dagens Industri.

The Scandinavian country has enjoyed decades of strong cooperation with Nordic and Baltic countries, and with intensified collaboration “with two other Baltic Sea countries, Poland and Germany, our region will be safer and stronger”, he said.

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