STOCKHOLM (AP) 鈥 A Turkish man was found guilty Thursday of attempted aggravated extortion, weapons possession and attempted terrorist financing, saying he was acting on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers鈥 Party.
The Stockholm District Court sentenced Yahya G眉ng枚r to a total of 4.5 years in prison for the crimes, after which he would be expelled from Sweden and banned from returning to the Scandinavian country.
It was the first time that a Swedish court sentenced someone for terrorist financing of the party, Judge Mans Wigen said. Also known as PKK, it has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
In May, 鈥 a move expected to help gain approval for the Nordic nation鈥檚 . Swedish lawmakers included a prison term of up to four years for individuals convicted of participating in an extremist organization in a way that is intended to promote, strengthen or support such a group.
Turkey has , accusing the Swedish government of not doing enough to crack down on PKK members and others whom Ankara considers extremists. The military alliance wants to admit Sweden before a NATO summit later this month in Vilnius, Lithuania. Senior officials from the two countries were to address Turkey's objections.
All existing members must ratify a candidate country鈥檚 accession protocol before it can join the trans-Atlantic alliance. Turkey and Hungary are the only two members that have not yet ratified Sweden鈥檚 bid.
鈥淚t goes without saying, but I still want to emphasize it. Sweden鈥檚 NATO application has had no impact on the district court鈥檚 decision,鈥 Wigen told a press conference.
Sweden鈥檚 Justice Minister Gunnar Str枚mmer told Swedish news agency TT that the ruling 鈥渙n a general level it is of course of great public interest.鈥
G眉ng枚r, a Kurd, for attempting to extort money on Jan. 11 in Stockholm by pointing a loaded revolver at a person, firing in the air and threatening to damage the premises unless he received demanded funds the following day. The man has denied any wrongdoing.
The court found that G眉ng枚r guilty and said the investigation into the case showed 鈥渢hat the PKK conducts a very extensive fundraising activity in Europe using e.g. extortion of Kurdish businessmen.鈥
Wigen, who called the crime 鈥渟erious,鈥 said that "the PKK is therefore to be considered a terrorist organization according to Swedish law.鈥
He noted that G眉ng枚r 鈥渨ould risk torture or other inhumane treatment if deported to Turkey.鈥 Because G眉ng枚r will be jailed for several years, "it is not possible to assess whether the obstacle to enforcement is permanent,鈥 Wigen said in a statement. 鈥淭he convicted person must therefore be deported.鈥
