The researcher describes Turkey's actions as a "witch hunt."
Turkey bases its extradition requests on allegations of crimes. However, according to documents reviewed by Yle, most requests appear to be politically motivated.
Turkey is increasingly demanding the extradition of dissidents from Finland. The Yle investigative journalism team has obtained decisions from the Ministry of Justice regarding these extradition requests.
Turkey justifies its requests with terrorism, but, judging by the documents, the evidence is shaky. Even a subscription to a certain newspaper can be considered evidence.
Most requests concern the Gülen movement, which Ankara blames for the coup attempt 10 years ago.
Last year, Finland received 12 extradition requests from Turkey, seven the year before, five in 2023, and four in 2022.
According to researcher at the Institute of International Relations Toni Alaranta, the increase may be linked to an agreement made during the NATO application process. When joining NATO in 2022, Finland and Sweden promised Turkey to enhance cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
"Turkey has been sending such requests for a long time. During the NATO accession process, Finland committed to strengthening cooperation with Turkey in combating terrorism. It is possible that Ankara decided to test how Finnish authorities respond to extradition requests after that," he said.
The researcher describes Turkey's actions as a "witch hunt."
"It is often directed against ordinary people and also against critics of Erdoğan's government who have no connection to the Gülen movement. This is a convenient pretext for suppressing any criticism of the authorities."
Finland has received such extradition requests. MOT obtained all extradition requests and decisions regarding them from the Ministry of Justice for the years 2024–2025.
Only one of them was granted – Finland extradited a Uruguayan suspected of a sexual offense against a minor.
Finland rejects extradition requests if the crime was committed on its territory, is considered minor under Finnish law, or is not a crime at all.
