Türkiye arrests 'terror' convict deported from Sweden

 Photo: MA

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Detained in Sweden on November 22, Mahmut Tat was deported to Türkiye early Saturday, the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Tat had been sentenced to 6 years and 10 months for "being a member of a terrorist organization" in Türkiye, for his alleged membership of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

After his sentence, Tat moved to Sweden in 2015 and applied for asylum, which was rejected.

He was put in İstanbul's Metris Prison.

Türkiye, Sweden and Finland in late June signed a memorandum regarding the two nordic countries' NATO membership bids, which included addressing Ankara's "security concerns." The two countries agreed to facilitate the extradition and deportation of "terror" suspects or convicts to Türkiye.

Sweden has reportedly deported or extradited several people to Türkiye after the memorandum.

What happened?

Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO on May 18, in a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

However, Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the two countries for tolerating and even supporting "terrorist groups."

The three countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding on June 28 at the NATO summit in Madrid, which stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Defense Units (YPG), which Türkiye sees as the PKK's extensions in Syria.

The Nordic countries also agreed to address Ankara's pending deportation or extradition requests regarding "terror" suspects.

Türkiye's parliament must ratify the country's approval for Finland and Sweden's membership for them to join NATO.

In September, Sweden lifted restrictions on arms sales to Türkiye, which was among Ankara's demands in order to approve its NATO bid. (RT/SD/VK)