Sweden party leader to file criminal charges against FM who met with YPG

The head of a Swedish political party has announced that he will file a criminal complaint against the country’s foreign minister, after she was seen meeting with the leadership of a Kurdish militia based in Syria.

Last week, Foreign Minister Ann Linde met with Ilham Ahmed, the co-president of the autonomous administration of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) militia, in north-east Syria.

As a result of that meeting, Stockholm pledged to boost its funding to the US-backed YPG to $376 million over the course of two years. Following the decision, many expected Turkey to condemn Sweden and its assistance of the militia which Ankara claims is directly linked to the designated terrorist group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The Chairman of Sweden’s Nuance Party (Partiet Nyans), Mikail Yuksel, said that he will file a complaint against Linde, along with other Swedes concerned by her meeting.

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“According to Swedish terrorism law, all types of relations with terrorists is a crime,” said Yuksel, according to the Turkish news outlet Daily Sabah. “Despite this law, Foreign Minister Linde holds meetings with members of a terrorist group, provides financial assistance and nothing happens.”

He added that the filing of the criminal complaint will also serve as a test for whether Swedish law is applied to only some select individuals or everyone in the country.

Yuksel, who is of Turkish origin, launched his party in 2019 after being expelled from the Centre Party, allegedly because he would not speak against Turkey or its government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His party has been a point of controversy for many on the right-wing in Sweden and abroad, and has been branded “pro-Islamic” as some of its focuses are on supporting migrant issues and tackling Islamophobia.

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