In Turkey’s first reaction to Sweden’s Supreme Court’s decision to block the extradition of a Turkish citizen accused by Ankara of ties to cleric Fethullah Gulen, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described the development as “very negative,” Reuters reported.

His comments came a day after Stockholm’s Supreme Court blocked the extradition of a Turkish national accused by Ankara of participating in a 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Erdogan.

Turkey says Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, is behind an attempted coup six years ago and has indicted hundreds of thousands of people on those charges.

In their ruling on Monday, Swedish judges noted that the charges against the man, who is wanted by Ankara, are related to a political crime and there is a risk that he will be prosecuted because of his political views.

It was later revealed that he was Bulet Kenes, the former editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily Zaman Bulet Kenes. He received refugee status in Sweden.

“This rejection of our request to extradite Bulent Kenes is a very negative development,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters on Tuesday.

Turkey demands the extradition of “terrorists” to Swedish soil

Ankara has repeatedly blocked Sweden and Finland from joining NATO, demanding that the two northern European countries hand over Gulen supporters and members of organizations linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a political group that Turkey has classified as a terrorist organization.

In early November, Sweden’s new government said it was distancing itself from the Kurdish YPG militia, an offshoot of the PKK, which supports the West in its fight against Islamic State in Syria.

“There is a very close connection between these organizations and the PKK,” Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom said on November 5, adding that “the main goal is Sweden’s membership in NATO.”

Finland and Sweden signed protocols on joining NATO on July 5, but they must be ratified by all 30 member countries of the alliance.

In December 2013, while Erdogan was still prime minister, Turkish authorities accused Fethullah Gulen, once a valued Erdogan ally who had lived in the US for more than 20 years, of spreading corruption allegations against his government.

President Erdogan blames Fethullah Gulen, now 81, as the mastermind behind the coup attempt in July 2016. Since then, Turkish authorities have made more than 300,000 arrests, mostly of police, judiciary and army personnel. as well as among intellectuals and journalists.