Swedish prosecutors deny spy agency arrests linked to Turkish case

Swedish prosecutors said on Thursday the intelligence service’s arrests of a Kurdish representative and a Swedish diplomat were not linked to a journalist facing “terror” charges in Turkiye.

Public broadcaster Sveriges Radio had alleged late on Wednesday that one of the suspects was connected to the case of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who is currently in custody in Turkey awaiting trial on a charge of belonging to a “terrorist” group.

The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) confirmed to AFP that two people had recently been arrested for “aggravated unauthorised handling of secret information”.

They had since been released but were still suspects, Sapo said. It declined to disclose any details of the case.

Sveriges Radio said one of the suspects in Sapo’s case was a Swedish citizen who was a leading representative for Kurds in Northern Syria. The other was a diplomat at the foreign ministry.

The broadcaster said it was unclear whether the arrests had been made as a result of a request from Turkey or not.

But on Thursday, the Swedish Prosecution Authority published a statement refuting the media reports.

“This is an individual case that has no links to other ongoing investigations or legal proceedings, in Sweden or in other countries,” public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said, noting the investigation was in an early stage.

Turkey has accused Medin, who works for Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC, of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an allegation he has denied.

Medin was detained at Istanbul airport on March 27 when he flew in to cover mass protests gripping Turkey.

A Turkish court last month handed the 40-year-old an 11-month suspended sentence on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In order to persuade Turkey to drop its veto when Sweden applied to join NATO, the countries made a deal that included increased collaboration on “terrorism”.

At the weekend, Sapo arrested a second diplomat on suspicions of spying. That diplomat was also released but remains a suspect, although the intelligence agency told AFP that was related to a separate investigation.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Turkey, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard confirmed there were two investigations ongoing relating to government employees.

“These are serious accusations but I can’t say more than that,” Stenergard said.

Stenergard said she had spoken to her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Wednesday about Medin’s case.