Swedes tighten terror laws, likely to help NATO membership

Sweden’s anti-terrorism laws were tightened Wednesday, which is expected to help Turkey approve Sweden’s NATO membership request.

The modification imposes a four-year sentence for extremist organization members who promote, strengthen, or support the group. Serious crimes can extend the punishment to eight years.

Terrorist leaders can be sentenced to life in Sweden, which usually implies 20–25 years.

The bill, which passed 268-34 with 47 lawmakers absent, made it unlawful to finance, recruit, publicly urge, or go abroad to join a terrorist organization.

June 1 will see the changes.

Turkey has accused Sweden of failing to act against terror organizations and existential dangers, particularly Kurdish organisations.

Sweden’s center-right administration is tougher on the PKK, YPG, and PYD. Turkey views the YPG as the PKK’s Syrian branch.
To avoid harming Turkey, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström stated Sweden would “keep a distance” from Syrian factions.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden and Finland joined NATO in May 2022, ending decades of non-alignment.

In April, Finland joined NATO as its 31st member, but Turkey and Hungary blocked Sweden’s candidacy. Joining NATO requires unanimity.