Sweden has been waiting for Hungary and Turkey to agree to join NATO for more than a year. Today, a new anti-terror law comes into force in the Scandinavian country, which is intended to change the mind of the government in Ankara.
With immediate effect, supporting, organizing and financing a terrorist organization is a punishable offense in Sweden.
Or to put it more practically: Anyone who provides transport services for such associations or catering at their events could be breaking the law, according to Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer.
Important step on the way to NATO?
For him and his conservative party friend, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the law is an important final step on the long, arduous path to NATO. Turkey has been saying for months that it will only agree to accession if Sweden takes more active action against alleged terrorists.
According to Kristersson, the new law fulfills the last part of the agreement between Sweden and Turkey: “We promised our Turkish friends that. We recognize that they had good reasons to be concerned about how other countries were treating them help protect yourself.”
PKK also financed from Sweden
At the beginning of the year, the Swedish news service SÄPO announced that the PKK, classified as a terrorist organization, was being co-financed from Sweden. To what extent and how many sympathizers there should be in Sweden is unclear. The intelligence service did not provide any information on this.
According to the government, the new anti-terror law should now lead to the state being able to take better action. In the worst case, those convicted face several years in prison.
fear of extradition
But the law has been criticized for months: Kurds like the journalist Kurdo Baksi fear that they will no longer be able to speak freely in Sweden in the future. Since the application to join NATO and the conflict with Turkey, Kurds in Sweden have been afraid.
“Erdogan keeps talking about an extradition list,” says Baksi. “First there were 33 people, then 42, and now, like a bazaar trader in Istanbul, he’s talking about 100 to 130 people who Sweden is supposed to extradite.”
criticism of the law
Not only Kurds are concerned. The Swedish Legislative Council had also sharply criticized the draft law. This body consists of lawyers and examines planned laws or changes to them on behalf of the government.
The members of the Legislative Council had recommended not to pass the new anti-terror law in its current form. They fear the law could lead to widespread criminalization. In addition, there are already extensive anti-terror laws in Sweden.
Lawyer Mikael Westerlund also criticizes the law. His Kurdish clients are extremely insecure. He sees the “classic solidarity work” in Sweden in danger, i.e. supporting oppressed people or collecting money for them.
Already a member in July?
Westerlund fears that there could soon be precedents. “It will be about showing before the NATO summit in Vilnius that the law is having an effect.”
At this annual NATO meeting in July, the Swedish government wants to sit at the table as the 32nd member of the defense alliance and not just be a guest.