The Swedish High Court stayed the extradition of former Today’s Zaman Editor in Chief and FETÖ suspect Bülent Keneş. The court says that there are legal obstacles to the extradition.
At a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Turkey’s President and the leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan elaborated on Turkey’s demands from Sweden on the extradition of a former editor-in-chief and FETÖ suspect.
‘’ Right now there is one suspect of the FETÖ organization in Sweden” Erdoğan said. ” I’ll even name him; Bülent Keneş. It is of utmost importance for us that he is deported back to Turkey, and we wish that Sweden acts responsibly.’’
Bülent Keneş, who is a suspect in the FETÖ investigation lives in Sweden as a fugitive. Sweden has already rejected Turkey’s extradition request four times.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland ended their neutrality policies and applied for NATO membership. Turkey, however, denied each country’s application, claiming that both Sweden and Finland provide support for terrorist organizations.
Following top level talks between the leaders of three countries on June 29 in Madrid, Turkey had reversed its veto against both nations. Shortly thereafter, however, Ankara began raising objections on the ground that Sweden and Finland haven’t lived up to their end of the bargain per the accords of the June summit.
The Swedish government sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Erdoğan on October 6, detailing the concrete steps it took to appease Turkish concerns over Sweden’s application to NATO.
