Sweden, Finland have not approved repatriating 33 people to Turkey-Turkish state media

Sweden and Finland have not granted approval for the repatriation of 33 people that Turkey requested for alleged links to groups it deems terrorists, state media said on Monday, after Ankara opposed the two countries joining NATO.

Turkey says the people sought had links to PKK militants or Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.

The two countries rejected 19 requests and left five without a response, state broadcaster TRT Haber said, citing the Justice Ministry, adding that nine requests were still being evaluated.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK-listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, and EU-has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkiye, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

The Turkish government accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

For decades, Sweden and Finland took a neutral foreign policy posture in the region, but the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that started on Feb. 24 triggered a shift in their approach, with both the public and most politicians favoring joining the NATO alliance.