Turkey has previously pointed out that Sweden is not doing enough to stop the terrorist group PKK from operating in the country. This assessment is now also supported by the Swedish Security Service.
The terror-classified PKK group is successfully recruiting and financing terrorists from Swedish soil, according to the Swedish security service.
However, the group does not pose a direct threat of attack against Sweden.
– However, we see that they are engaged in supporting activities that may be incitement, recruitment and terrorist financing to support terrorist activities, in another country or Sweden, says Susanna Trehörning, deputy head of counter-terrorism at Swedish Security Service, to the Swedish news agency TT.
According to her, the financing of terrorism is “significant”.
– I won’t go into the exact amounts, but they are substantial.
She does not say how many sympathizers the PKK has in Sweden. However, the number is estimated to be large due to the large migration from Turkey and the Middle East.
Facts: The PKK
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was founded in 1978 as a Marxist party.
The movement's goal was a Kurdish state in south-eastern Turkey and adjacent parts of neighbouring countries.
In 1984, the PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in the fight for independence.
The PKK is labelled a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US.
In 2015, around 45,000 people were estimated to have been killed in 30 years of fighting between the Turkish military and the PKK.
