Sweden rejects asylum request of 168 FETO-linked people

By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM (AA) – Sweden dismissed Friday the asylum requests of 168 people linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, according to the country’s state radio.

Sveriges Radio (SR), Sweden’s official broadcasting station, announced that according to the Swedish Migration Agency, a total of 183 FETO linked people applied for asylum and 15 of them were accepted.

Omer Turk, who was a principal in a FETO school and escaped from Turkey after the defeated coup attempt, told SR that his asylum request was dismissed and he did not want to return to Turkey since it would not be safe for him.

Deputy Legal Director at the Migration Agency, Carl Bexelius said regarding the issue:

“We do not find it harmful to send them to Turkey even if they are Gulen sympathizers. But if there is a greater risk of going to prison, we accept their requests.”

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.