SVT Nyheter was able to tell this week that about ten wanted persons from Sweden are staying away in Turkey.
But that Turkey has become a safe place for serious criminals is dismissed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.
In the interview with SVT's reporter Diamant Salihu, in the documentary "Flykten till Turkiet", he goes so far as to accuse him of having a hidden agenda.
- It is the PKK and FETÖ who speak.
It's not honest journalism, replies an irritated Kalin, before interrupting the interview.
"Quite expected"
Now the documentary and the interview, which were published on Wednesday, are causing reactions in Turkey.
In media loyal to the government, such as Sabah and the TV channel Haber, it is called "a provocation".
An account with 15,000 followers claiming to be engaged in fact-checking describes it as a "smear campaign".
- It is portrayed as Erdogan's adviser flattering a foreign journalist who is out to smear Turkey.
It is made into a matter of defending the nation's honor, says SVT's Turkey correspondent Tomas Thorén.
- It is quite expected, one might say.
It follows a fairly common pattern, that critical issues are met by shooting the messenger.
Charlotta Friborg, publisher responsible for SVT's Riksnyheterna, comments on the Turkish reactions:
- We have become quite used to attacks on our journalism in Turkish media loyal to the government in recent months, i.e. the period when the Swedish NATO application was on the agenda.
It has been expressed that the Swedish government should shut down SVT.
But free journalism means that you don't take orders from any government, whether it sits in Ankara or Stockholm.
"We will continue to highlight relevant aspects of the relations between Turkey and Sweden," says Charlotta Friborg.
Photo: SVT
At the same time, Tomas Thorén states that the Turkish reactions illustrate how sensitive the country's government representatives are to critical issues, but perhaps also that the topic of Turkey as a haven for criminals is loaded.
- But it must also be said that the interview has received a lot of attention and been praised by the few, hard-working media that are not part of the regime's chain of command.
I have seen many journalists in that sphere who say that "this is what journalism should look like" in Turkey, he says.
What would happen if a Turkish journalist asked the same questions?
- That would lead to some form of reprisal.
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Watch when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin is provoked by the critical questions, and demands to interrupt the interview with SVT's reporter.
Photo: SVT