The Swedish government announced today its decision to extradite a 30-year-old man accused of fraud to Turkey. Recall that in the summer Ankara agreed to give the green light to Sweden’s official application for NATO membership, but in return demanded the extradition of a number of persons from Stockholm.

NATO member Turkey in June lifted a veto over a request by Finland and Sweden to join the North Atlantic Alliance after weeks of tense negotiations in which Ankara accused the two Scandinavian countries of harboring what Turkey had said to Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants. , which was banned in Turkey.

As part of the deal, Turkey presented a list of people Stockholm should extradite, but Ankara has since expressed disappointment at the lack of progress.

The man, in his 30s, will be the first known case of extradition to Turkey since the deal was struck.

“This is a routine matter. The person in question is a Turkish citizen and was convicted of fraud in Turkey in 2013 and 2016,” Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said in a text message to Reuters.

“The Supreme Court considered the case in the usual manner and concluded that there are no obstacles to extradition,” he said.

A spokesman for the Swedish Ministry of Justice declined to say if the man was on the list of people whom Turkey requested Sweden to extradite.

Swedish broadcaster SVT, which first announced the release, said the man had been sentenced in Turkey to 14 years in prison for several cases of bank card fraud.

The man, who has been in Swedish custody since last year, claims he was wrongfully convicted because he converted to Christianity, refused military service and has Kurdish roots, SVT reported.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.