After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Sweden wants to join NATO - but Turkey is blocking it. Because according to Ankara, Sweden is not doing enough against the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK. The Swedish secret service becomes active: And finds out that the PKK actually uses Sweden as a location.
According to the Swedish secret service, the banned Kurdish workers' party PKK supports terrorist activities from Sweden. "This can involve the request for and recruitment for acts of terrorism and terrorist financing," said the deputy head of counter-terrorism at the Säpo secret service, Susanne Trehörning, the TT news agency.
However, the PKK does not pose a direct risk of an assassination attempt, she emphasized. Regarding terrorist financing, Trehörning said: "I won't give exact amounts, but the amounts are considerable." In early February, a man was arrested in Sweden for allegedly attempting to finance terrorism by the PKK.
In May 2022, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO. All member countries must agree to the application. However, Turkey has so far refused to clear the way for the Nordic countries to join NATO by ratifying the so-called accession protocols. Ankara accuses Sweden of not taking decisive action against people and groups that Turkey classifies as terrorist. This includes the PKK, which is also on the terror list in the EU.
In order to settle the dispute, Sweden promised Turkey in June that it would step up its efforts against terrorism. A new law to combat support for terrorist organizations is due to come into force in Sweden this summer. "The law will give us the opportunity to intervene as soon as someone starts to get involved in a terrorist organization," Trehörning told the TT news agency.
