Sweden's Supreme Court has rejected a request to extradite a man at Turkey's request, saying the crime the man allegedly committed is not criminalized in the Scandinavian country, AP reported.

The Supreme Court said in a statement that there are obstacles to extradition because these are so-called political crimes, that is, crimes against the state that are political in nature. The court did not name the suspect according to Swedish policy.

However, the Swedish news agency TT reported that the person in question is Bülent Kenes, who Ankara claims is responsible for an attempted coup in Turkey in 2016.

Kenes, 55, who was granted asylum in Sweden, was the editor of the English-language newspaper Today's Zaman, which has been linked to the movement of Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. It was shut down as part of the authorities' crackdown on the Gulen movement. Turkey blames Gulen for the failed 2016 coup and considers his network a terrorist organization.

Turkey is delaying the ratification of Sweden and Finland's applications to join NATO, putting pressure on the two Scandinavian countries to extradite people whom Ankara considers terrorists.

Last month, Erdogan mentioned Kenes during a joint press conference with the Swedish prime minister in Ankara. “There is one member of the (Gulen) terrorist organization in Sweden, whose name I will give: Bulent Kenes,” Erdogan said. “For example, the deportation of this terrorist to Turkey is of great importance to us, and we of course want Sweden to act with more sensitivity (on the issue).”

Kenes welcomed the decision but insisted that he was not even considered a suspect.

“I’m happy of course. But the decision was expected,” Kenes told Swedish broadcaster SVT. “I am not completely satisfied because they say that I am suspected of crimes in Turkey. I have committed no crime at all. These accusations are completely fabricated by Erdogan’s regime.”

“Unfortunately, I expect bad things from Erdogan and his regime. They will continue to try to abuse the legal system,” Kenes was quoted as saying by SVT.

The Supreme Court in Stockholm said that there is “a risk of persecution based on the person’s political views.”

“It is clear that in this case there are several obstacles to extradition,” Supreme Court judge Petter Asp said in the statement “Extradition cannot therefore take place.”

Earlier this month, Sweden deported an unnamed man who fled there after a Turkish court found him guilty of membership in an armed organization.