Swedish spy agency arrests linked to reporter held in Turkey: media

STOCKHOLM: The Swedish intelligence service's recent arrests of a Kurdish community representative and a Swedish diplomat are linked to a Swedish journalist facing "terror" charges in Turkey, Swedish media reported.The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) confirmed to AFP that two people had recently been arrested for "aggravated unauthorised handling of secret information".They have since been released but Sapo said they were still suspects and declined to disclose any details of the case.Public broadcaster Sveriges Radio reported late on Wednesday that one of the suspects was connected to the case of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who is currently in custody in Turkey awaiting trial on a charge of belonging to a terrorist group.Ankara accuses Medin of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an allegation he has denied.Medin, who works for Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC, was detained at Istanbul airport on March 27 when he flew in to cover mass protests gripping Turkey.A Turkish court last month handed the 40-year-old an 11-month suspended sentence on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.According to Sveriges Radio, one of the suspects in Sapo's case is a Swedish citizen who is a leading representative for Kurds in Northern Syria.

The broadcaster noted that it was not known if the arrest had been made as a result of a request from Turkey or not.In order to persuade Turkey to drop its veto when Sweden applied to join NATO, the countries made a deal that included increased collaboration on "terrorism".The other suspect in the case was a diplomat employed at Sweden's foreign ministry, according to the broadcaster.At the weekend, Sapo arrested another diplomat suspected of spying.The diplomat was also released but remains a suspect, although the intelligence agency told AFP that was related to a separate investigation.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Turkey, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard confirmed there were two investigations ongoing relating to government employees."These are serious accusations but I can't say more than that," Stenergard said.Stenergard said she had spoken to her Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Wednesday about Medin's case.