Sweden charges Turkish citizen with financing outlawed Kurdish militant group

Swedish prosecutors on Friday charged a Turkish citizen with gun crimes and raising money for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Sweden's prosecution authority said it was the first time anyone had been charged with attempting to provide financing to the PKK, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the US.

The man, who has not been named, is suspected of aggravated extortion, serious gun crime and attempting to fund terrorism.

The indictment says that the man was part of a significant network focused on amassing funds for the PKK and that he was connected with another Turkish citizen who had been jailed in Germany for being a member of the militant group.

The man's defence lawyer, Ilhan Aydin, said his client denies the charges of aggravated extortion and of attempting to fund terrorism but concedes to a lesser charge of weapon possession.

Mr Aydin further expressed concerns over the political context overshadowing the case.

“I hope my client does not become a piece in the game or the negotiations on Nato,” he said

Sweden and Turkey relations

The case comes at a sensitive time in Sweden's relations with Turkey, which is holding up its application for Nato membership in part because it says Stockholm harbours supporters of militant groups it considers to be terrorists.

Sweden, which applied to join Nato last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, wants its membership ratified before the alliance's summit in mid-July in Vilnius.

Only Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve the bid. Finland, which applied alongside Sweden and was initially blocked by Ankara, joined Nato in April.

Sweden says it has fulfilled all the conditions of a three-way pact with Turkey and Finland struck in Madrid in June last year to smooth its path to Nato membership.

But Turkey has said Sweden has not gone far enough to assuage its security concerns.

Talks between the two countries over Nato accession are due to restart next week.

The PKK is a Kurdish militant group that has been fighting for an independent Kurdish state in Turkey since 1984.

The group has been accused of human rights abuses, including the use of child soldiers and suicide bombings. The group has also been accused of carrying out attacks on Turkish civilians and security forces.

The PKK's armed conflict with Turkey has killed more than 40,000 since it began.

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