A 30-year-old man has been in custody since September, awaiting extradition to Turkey. Turkish authorities demand he serve time for five counts of aggravated fraud, which he has been found guilty of. However, the man claims that his extradition request is politically motivated, citing his alleged connection to the Gülen movement. The Supreme Court has ruled that if he is extradited to Turkey, he could face persecution, which would warrant refugee status. The HD, the highest court in Sweden, has stated that the man was pressured to name individuals in the movement, but still sees no reason why he should not be extradited. The Minister of Justice has agreed with this assessment. In Sweden’s bid to join NATO, Turkey has required several extraditions in order to approve Finland’s and Sweden’s applications. Last year, Turkey successfully extradited a person, but has been denied in other cases, including that of a Swedish citizen. On Thursday, another extradition request from Turkey was denied by the Swedish government.
The 30-year-old man has been in custody since September after Turkey requested his extradition. A Turkish chief prosecutor wants him extradited to serve time for five counts of aggravated fraud for which he was convicted.
But the 30-year-old calls this a pretext. According to him, there are political reasons why Turkey wants to extradite him. In a decision from the Supreme Court regarding his attitude it is stated:
“He has been accused of collusion with the Gülen movement and, if extradited to Turkey, risks being exposed to persecution due to an ascribed political opinion, which is sufficient to establish refugee status.”
HD: Can be released
Before a decision can be made by the government, the case must pass the Supreme Court. In the HD decision, he says that he was pressured to name people in the Gülen movement – whom Erdogan accuses of the coup attempt in 2016 – and was subjected to violence. But the court still sees no reason why the man should not be extradited.
“From the investigation in the Supreme Court, it appears that (name) on several occasions, even after the events of 2017, left Turkey and then voluntarily returned there and stayed there. This speaks against him being at risk of being persecuted because of political opinion.”
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) says in a written comment that the government shares HD’s assessment.
What significance does it have for the ratification of Sweden’s NATO application?
“I don’t want to speculate on that. I can only state that there are no obstacles to extradition. That is why the government decided yesterday on extradition”.
Extraditions a requirement
A requirement for Turkey to approve Sweden’s and Finland’s application for NATO membership has been that several people must be extradited. Last year, Turkey got a first person extradited since negotiations began. Next, Turkey has got refused in several cases.
On Thursday, Turkey was rejected by the government regarding another extradition request. That person is a Swedish citizen and is therefore not extradited.
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