Sweden jails Kurd over attempted financing for PKK

A Swedish court on Thursday sentenced a Kurdish man to jail for "attempted terrorist financing" for a pro-Kurdish body, a first in the Scandinavian country seeking Ankara's approval to join NATO.

The man, described by the Stockholm district court as a Kurd in his forties with roots in Turkey, was also found guilty of attempted aggravated extortion and a firearms offence.

The court slapped a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence and said he would be deported upon his release.

The man was arrested in January after making threats and firing a gun outside a restaurant in Stockholm.

Judge Mans Wigen said the man was "attempting to extort money from a Kurdish businessman in Stockholm at gunpoint to for the PKK".

"The attempted extortion took place within the framework of an extensive fundraising programme conducted by the PKK in Europe, including through extortion," Wigen said.

Ilhan Aydin, the man's lawyer, told AFP he would appeal.

"He is disappointed with the outcome and we do not share the district court's judgement, particularly in the areas of terrorist financing and attempted aggravated extortion," Aydin said.

Turkey, which is blocking Sweden's NATO bid, has accused the Scandinavian country of being a haven for "terrorists", especially members of the PKK, and has asked Stockholm to extradite dozens of people.

Sweden tightened its anti-terrorism legislation in July last year, making it easier to prosecute financing activities for terrorist organisations.

This is the first time that the new law, already used in cases linked to the Islamic State group, has been used against an alleged PKK supporter.

The verdict comes as top diplomats from Turkey and Sweden are due meet on Thursday at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. 

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also visited US President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the stalled bid.

NATO counterparts have been pushing Turkey to grant the green light to Sweden by the time a summit is held in Lithuania on July 11-12.

Ending two centuries of neutrality and military non-alignment, Sweden and neighbouring Finland announced bids to join NATO in May last year after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO member states yet to ratify Sweden's bid, which requires unanimous approval.