There Sweden adopted one new anti-terror law in line with the demands of Türkiyethe only member state of the Born which is still blocking the Scandinavian country’s entry into the alliance. According to the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias BillstromThe government approved the changes requested by Ankara and his government is now awaiting the summit Born from June 11th and 12th in Lithuania to see if Turkey finally withdraws its veto. Sweden’s Anti-Terrorism Law Is Certainly An Important Victory For Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoganbut at the same time its adoption sets a worrying precedent for democracy in Europe.
The new rules update the existing ones and stipulate that those who arrange travel or transfers, offer or seek accommodation, look after the children or provide food to loved ones terrorist group. As the Minister of Justice explained Gunnar Strommer According to local media, the intention is to punish anyone who supports or promotes a certain type of organization on a logistical, administrative and financial level. The minister also clarified that the law does not prohibit expressing support for or affiliation with a terrorist group, unless it is one propaganda.
However, not everyone agrees with Strömmer. The Council on Legislation, a body made up of judges from the supreme court and from Supreme Administrative Court Responsible for monitoring compliance with Constitution Regarding the draft laws, he criticized the newly adopted measures, which he considered too vague. Therefore, there is a risk that the new rules could affect other rights of Swedish citizens and could be used instrumentally.
However, the first to pay the price for this new law will be Kurdsas it points out Ridvan IsvecPresident of Kurdish Democratic Center in Stockholm. “The new anti-terror law was introduced despite objections from the council, civil society and bar associations. We Kurds expected European democracy to transform Turkey, but Erdogan has imposed a Turkish legal vision on Europe.” A vision that is instrumental and, according to Isvec, jeopardizes the future Freedom of the Press, Thought and Association of the whole country.
But in addition to an adjustment of the legislative system, Erdogan also demanded concrete results from Sweden in the fight against it Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and Europe – despite the contrary opinion of the European Court of Justice – as well as against them pyd and the Ypg/Ypj Syrians. These last three acronyms indicate Rojava Democratic Union Party and allied Kurdish fighters USA in the fight against terrorism Syria and until recently also supported by Sweden, but considered terrorists by Turkey.
In response, Sweden’s Supreme Court agreed for the first time this week the extradition of a man of Kurdish descent convicted in Turkey drug and moved to Sweden after his parole. According to the man, however, because of his connections to the pro-Kurdish party, there is also a risk of being convicted of terrorism after his return home HDP, active in Turkey and threatened with legal closure. His case may not be the only one. According to the local press, in the next few days the Swedish judiciary could also authorize the extradition of a person suspected of threatening the owner of a restaurant to collect money for the PKK.
For the Swedish Kurdish community, the government’s allegiance to Turkey is a concern, but for Erdogan, Stockholm’s recent moves are rather an important victory both internally and internationally. The Turkish President was the only one to speak out against NATO enlargement at a very sensitive moment for the Alliance, and he still received the support of the Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in his call for Sweden to tighten national terrorism legislation. The minister has always supported Turkey and put pressure on both Sweden and Turkey Finland to meet Erdogan’s demands, beginning with the lifting of the arms embargo imposed in 2019 after Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria.
Erdogan can start with the passage of the new anti-terror law in Sweden “Turkish New Century” with an important win, but his ability to impose himself on Europe does not bode well for EU countries’ democracies.