YPG suspect nabbed in Sweden as intel denies link with journalist
STOCKHOLM
Swedish authorities detained an individual this week for operating on behalf of the YPG terrorist organization, as Swedish intelligence denied claims that the operation was linked to a journalist arrested in Türkiye.
Officers from the Swedish Security Service (SEPO) raided the home of Shiyar Ali and confiscated his computer and other digital materials, Swedish media reported late on May 14.
The newspaper published a photo showing Ali being detained with his hands cuffed behind his back, noting that his whereabouts remain unknown and there has been no contact with him since the detention.
Ali previously appeared before a court in Sweden in 2023 on suspicion of laundering approximately 400,000 euros ($448,000). Ali had transported the money — which he claimed was "aid collected for northern Syria" — by car in 2017, from a so-called YPG office located in the Troisdorf district between the German cities of Cologne and Bonn.
Sweden’s public broadcaster Sveriges Radio had alleged that the suspect was connected to the case of Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who is currently in custody in Türkiye awaiting trial on a charge of belonging to the PKK/YPG terrorist group.
The Swedish Security Service confirmed that the YPG suspect and a diplomat at the Foreign Ministry had recently been arrested for "aggravated unauthorized handling of secret information.”
But the Swedish Prosecution Authority published a statement refuting the media reports.
"This is an individual case that has no links to other ongoing investigations or legal proceedings, in Sweden or in other countries," public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said, noting the investigation was in an early stage.
Türkiye has accused Medin, who works for Swedish newspaper Dagens ETC, of being a member of PKK, an allegation he has denied.
