Swedish-Kurdish lawmaker denied entry to Turkey

Formal Announcement

The Swedish lawmaker of Kurdish origin, Jabar Amin, who was denied entry to Turkey as part of an international mission monitoring upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections says "the Turks do not decide which observers are going there."

Jabar Amin of Sweden's small Environment Party — one of four Swedish lawmakers acting as observers for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe — says he has returned to Sweden.

Turkey's ambassador to Sweden, Emre Yunt, tells the Swedish public broadcaster that Amin was denied access because he could be biased after having been critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Yunt says Turkey had informed the OSCE, to which Amin replied that "it is possible that it was said while I was on the plane but I knew nothing about it."