The problem of crime in Sweden and its relationship to diplomatic tensions between Stockholm and Ankara over NATO is touched upon in a lengthy Politico article.

The site describes an explosion of gang-to-gang violence, house bombings in residential areas in the Scandinavian country. The latter targeted the relatives of the “Kurdish fox”.

Rava Majid, 36, was born in Iran but grew up in Uppsala, Sweden. In 2010, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison for drug-related cases, including cocaine trafficking through the Netherlands. After his release, he “disappeared” first in Iraq and then in Turkey. The reason is that he received threats from other schemes.

The Swedish authorities are asking Turkey to extradite him to stand trial in new pending cases against him. But Turkey, which demands from Sweden to extradite to Ankara even journalists opposed to Erdogan, refuses. Prosecutor Hendrik Senderman told Politico, “Turkish authorities have stated that extradition is not possible because Rava Majid is a Turkish citizen.”

An Iranian-born, Swedish-raised Kurd, Rawa Majid obtained his Turkish passport with Ankara’s golden visa.

What are Turkey’s objections to Sweden joining NATO?

Sweden criticized Turkey for violating human rights and problematic aspects of its democracy, which angered Ankara.

Turkey alleges that Stockholm is providing asylum to members of groups that Ankara considers terrorist, accusations the Swedish side denies. In addition, Turkey requires the extradition of these individuals in order to make progress in the ratification of Sweden’s accession to NATO. However, the Swedish courts blocked some deportations.

In recent weeks, Turkey has also raised its objections to protests in Stockholm, during which protesters burned a Koran and, on another occasion, hung an effigy of Erdogan upside down.

Ankara characterizes the above as war crimes, while Sweden says they are part of the free speech legal framework.

However, it is worth noting that Turkey’s May elections will be the biggest political challenge Erdogan will face in his twenty years in power. The NATO issue could be used to distract voters from the country’s cost-of-living crisis.

An opposition victory, a scenario considered realistic, would improve Sweden’s chances of joining NATO sooner.

According to Politico, Reuters