Sweden agrees to one extradition to Türkiye amid NATO bid

Sweden said Thursday it would extradite a Turkish citizen wanted by Ankara but rejected another request, with extraditions being one of Ankara's key demands to ratify Stockholm's NATO membership.

Türkiye has accused Sweden of providing a safe haven for dozens of suspects it believes are linked to a failed 2016 coup attempt and a decades-long PKK's terror campaign, and has therefore held back on ratifying its NATO application.

Sweden's justice ministry said it had agreed to the extradition of Omer Altun, a 29-year-old Turkish citizen sentenced last year by a Turkish court to 15 years in prison for "what in Sweden would be the equivalent of fraud."

The ministry said the extradition was only agreed on the condition that Altun would be granted a retrial upon his return to Turkey.

The decision, a copy of which was obtained by AFP and was dated March 30, came after Sweden's Supreme Court gave the green light for the extradition.

"The government shares the Supreme Court's assessment that there is nothing blocking the extradition of Omer Altun to Turkey," it said.