In an effort to allay Turkey’s concerns about Sweden joining NATO, the country stated on Thursday that it will strengthen the regulations governing membership in terrorist organisations.
The new law implementation, on the suggestion of NATO, will give authorities significantly wider powers to imprison and prosecute those who support terrorist organizations, either through money or other ways, and the government hopes that it will go into effect in June.
According to Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer, “We are talking about extraordinarily far-reaching criminalization.” Strommer stated that it had been challenging to bring charges against individuals unless their behavior could be connected to a specific terrorist incident. All involvement would be covered by the new legislation.
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The incident in downtown Stockholm in 2017 when a man ran over pedestrians on a popular shopping street, killing five, Strommer claimed had underscored the need for stricter laws.
However, he continued, the threat level had recently grown, with Sweden being considered as a valid target as a result of, among other things, the burning of the Koran by far-right Danish lawmaker Rasmus Paludan in Stockholm last month.
Sweden agreed to increase its collaboration with Turkey in the fight against terrorism as part of a June pact designed to allay Ankara’s concerns about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Following rallies in Stockholm, including one by Paludan, Turkey abruptly halted negotiations last month, claiming that Sweden was not doing enough.
According to Strommer, the new rule won’t hinder people’s ability to protest or forbid them from flying the flag of the PKK, an outlawed organisation that started fighting Turkey in 1984.
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Sweden, the United States, and Turkey have all recognized the PKK as a terrorist organization. It won’t be illegal in and of itself to raise a flag in support of an opposing viewpoint, according to Strommer.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO last year. However, Turkey unexpectedly objected, and they have since worked to earn Turkey’s backing.
