MESOP NEWS : Sweden extradites suspected Kurdish PKK member to Germany

BERLIN,— AP – 9 Juli 2016 – Sweden has extradited to Germany a Turkish Kurdish national who’s accused of being a senior member in Germany of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

The federal prosecutor’s office said Friday that the 36-year-old man, identified only as Zeki E. in line with German privacy rules, was handed over to German authorities on Wednesday.The suspect was arrested in Sweden April 13 on a German warrant.The PKK, which wants greater autonomy for Kurds living in Turkey, is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. Zeki E. is accused of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. Prosecutors say that he led local PKK branches in the western German city of Darmstadt, Berlin and then southern Germany earlier this decade. www.mesop.de