Turkish agency condemns Swedish professor for discriminating against student over NATO row

By Burcu Calik Gocumlu

ANKARA (AA) - The Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye (TIHEK) condemned on Saturday the discrimination of a Turkish student by a Swedish professor because of Sweden's NATO bid.

“In a democratic society founded on fundamental principles such as pluralism, tolerance and respect for different cultures, it is unacceptable to treat someone differently because of their race, color, political opinion, ancestry or ethnic origin,” the Turkish human right group said in a statement.

It said the agency will follow the attitudes, behaviors and actions that harm the principle of equality.

Earlier, TRT World revealed that a professor from Stockholm University barred a Turkish student from attending an internship program because of Sweden’s NATO bid.

TRT World, the English-language news channel of public broadcaster TRT, was granted access to an email sent by Per Carlbring, who leads a clinical psychology research group at the university.

Fatma Zehra S., a third-year undergraduate studying psychology at Istanbul’s Ibn Haldun University, was accepted by an Erasmus+ fund for the summer 2023 internship at a university she would choose.

One of the internships she applied for was at Stockholm University in Sweden. On Nov. 23, Fatma sent an email to Carlbring, asking to be included in participation in a research project he led.

Hours later, Carlbring replied: “I would love to host you. However, since Turkey does not allow Sweden to join NATO, I have to decline. Sorry!”

Speaking to TRT World, Fatma said, “After getting this answer, I was simply shocked. It took me a long time to process it.”

“We receive many inquiries from students who are interested in visiting us as research interns. We are unable to receive them all, but expect that any request is responded to in a professional manner,” Fredrik Jonsson, head of the psychology department at Stockholm University, told TRT World.

“In this case, as soon as we learnt about this issue we acted and have handled it according to our routines,” he added.

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May, abandoning decades of military non-alignment, a decision spurred by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

But Türkiye -- a NATO member for more than 70 years -- voiced objections, accusing the two countries of tolerating and even supporting terror groups, including the PKK and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Last June, Türkiye and the two Nordic countries signed a memorandum at a NATO summit in Madrid to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for their eventual membership in the alliance.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK - listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

FETO orchestrated a defeated coup in Türkiye on July 15, 2016, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded. Ankara also 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.