In Sweden, a Kurd has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for allegedly trying to raise money for the PKK. It is the first time someone has been convicted of attempting to fund the PKK in the Nordic country.
In Sweden, a Kurd has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for allegedly trying to raise money for the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). The Stockholm District Court on Thursday said that the man must also permanently leave the country.
The charge against the 40-year-old, who was arrested in January, also included violence and weapons offences. He was accused of forcing a Kurdish businessman in Stockholm to hand over money at gunpoint. The indictment was based, among other things, on information from German and French secret services.
It is the first time in Sweden that someone has been convicted of trying to finance the PKK. The judgment can still be appealed to a higher court, said presiding judge Måns Wigén at a press conference.
The trial took place against the background of Sweden's aspirations to join NATO. The application for membership has so far been blocked by Turkey, as well as Hungary. Turkey accuses Sweden of being a safe haven for alleged "terrorists," meaning supporters of the Kurdish liberation movement and exile opposition figures against the Erdoğan regime.
Sweden recently enacted tougher anti-terrorism legislation in response to Turkey's conditions for approving the country's NATO membership. The extended scope of the law includes the criminalization of all activities that can be interpreted as supporting the PKK.
