Sweden blocks extradition of fugitive FETÖ suspect

There were “several hindrances” to send back former head of now-defunct Today’s Zaman, who is accused of being involved in the failed 2016 military coup, the court said, Qazet.az reports.

Some of the accusations against Keneş are not crimes in Sweden, which along with the political nature of the case and his refugee status in Sweden, rendered an extradition impossible, the court added.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters during a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in early November in Ankara that Keneş was among terrorists he wants extradited from Sweden.

“It is important that this terrorist be deported to Türkiye. We want Sweden to be more sensitive about this,” he said.

Sweden and Finland abandoned their longstanding policies of military nonalignment and applied for membership in the military alliance after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, fearing that Russian President Vladimir Putin might target them next.

But Türkiye has been holding off on endorsing their bids, accusing them of ignoring Ankara’s security concerns. Ankara is pressing the two countries to crack down on terrorists, including supporters of the PKK and FETÖ.