With NATO membership in mind, Sweden hands over Turkish man convicted of drug offenses at home

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Swedish government decided Monday to extradite a Turkish citizen resident in Sweden who had been convicted in 2013 of drug crime in Turkey. The move came as NATO-member Turkey continued to hold up Sweden’s bid to join the military alliance. The man, who had served his prison sentence and was living in Sweden legally, claimed the real reason for his extradition was that he was active in a pro-Kurdish political party and supported a group Ankara considers to be terrorists. The Swedish Justice Ministry which didn’t identify the man, said there were “no obstacles” to his extradition, and that the man was under investigation in Turkey for posting online manipulated photos of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.