Turkey says Swedish decision not to probe protest ‘absurd’

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has denounced as “absurd” a decision by a Swedish prosecutor not to open an investigation into a protest by Kurds in central Stockholm where an effigy of the Turkish president was hung from a lamppost. Last week’s protest drew an angry backlash from Turkey, a NATO member which has been holding off on approving Sweden’s application to join the military alliance until the Swedish government cracks down on groups that Ankara regards as security threats. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that the protest amounted to racism and hate crime. The Ankara chief prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the incident.