Details of the deal for the release of Turkish hostages taken by IS in June, including Turkey’s consul general in Mosul, are still few, since the government remains largely quiet about the matter. Information leaked to the media , as well as remarks by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has, however, all but confirmed that the deal involved a prisoner exchange . Erdogan was asked by journalists, prior to flying to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in September, if reports of such an exchange were true. Without going into detail, he said, “ Whether there was an exchange or not , the important thing is that 49 [people] have been saved.” Of the 49, 46 were Turks and three were local Iraqi employees.

There are those on the Turkish side, however, who are quick to turn the tables on Denmark. They recall that Copenhagen always turned a deaf ear to requests by Ankara about the extradition of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants sought by Turkey for acts of terrorism. They also underline that Denmark has not prevented various activities by this group on Danish soil.

The incident has resulted in diplomatic demarches and angry remarks by Copenhagen, which is said to be doubly furious that Ankara is not taking the matter as seriously as the Danish side expects.

Danes are livid that the Islamic militants reportedly released by Turkey in September in exchange for 49 hostages held by IS included a Danish national sought by Denmark for the attempted murder of a Danish writer and anti-Islamic activist.

Unbeknownst to most Turks, who are more concerned about much more direct issues involving developments in Syria and Iraq, a diplomatic storm is raging between Turkey and Denmark because of the Islamic State (IS).

According to various reports that have appeared in the Turkish and foreign press since then, anywhere between 50 and 180 IS militants may have been released in exchange for the Turkish hostages. The IS militants released were reportedly held in Syria by Islamic groups fighting under the Free Syrian Army (FSA), mainly the “Liwa al-Tawhid Brigades.”

Daily Hurriyet quoted officials from the Ministry of Justice on Sept. 23 as saying that the operation for releasing the Turkish hostages did not result “in a reduction in the inventory of Turkish prisons.” This also suggests that those released were being held in Syria rather than Turkey.

Copenhagen is insisting, however, that one of those released included a Danish national wanted by Denmark for his failed attempt to kill the Danish writer Lars Hedegaard in February 2013.

The suspect has been identified only as “BH” by the Danish authorities and, according to the Danish media, is a 27-year-old man with Lebanese roots who was on the run until he was arrested in Turkey in April 2014 while trying to enter the country on a false passport.

Hedegaard — who is also the founder of the Free Press Society in Denmark — is known for his virulently anti-Islamic remarks. He was accused in 2011 of racism and found guilty by a court for saying, among other things, that “girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their dad.” Denmark’s Supreme Court dismissed the judgment in 2012. Hedegaard remains a vocal critic of Islam, arguing that Denmark’s laws on free speech allow him to air his views openly even if these anger some people.

Although Danish officials say they have been seeking the suspect since his attack on Hedegaard, Interpol’s website does not list any suspect being sought by Denmark whose initials are BH.

While Ankara remains largely silent on the topic, most of the information on this crisis between the two countries has been coming from statements to the media by members of the Danish government and other Danish officials.

The Local, a Danish English-language daily, reported Oct. 20 that a Danish delegation that had traveled to Ankara last week had confirmed that Hedegaard’s would-be assassin had been released by Turkey, although it could not get an answer from the Turkish side as to why this was done.

The paper also quoted from a written statement by Danish Minister for Justice Mette Frederiksen on the visit. “I understand that the recent rumors that a Danish citizen was released have been confirmed by the Turkish authorities. I find it completely incomprehensible that the man in question has been released,” the statement said.

The daily Hurriyet, one of the few Turkish papers that has been following the matter through its correspondent in Copenhagen, quoted Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on Oct. 21 as saying the Danes were still expecting an explanation from Turkey, and adding that the “matter is not closed.” Meanwhile, politicians from various Danish parties have been expressing their anger at Turkey by questioning its value as a NATO ally, and calling for a host of retaliatory measures against Ankara, including recalling the Danish ambassador.

Hedegaard had predictably scathing comments on the reports that Turkey released his would-be assassin. “It is scandalous and cheeky of Turkey that we needed to send a Danish delegation all the way down there just to find out what they could have told us a week ago,” he was quoted as saying by The Local.

“The Turks have placed themselves outside of the regular legal system and with this decision they have also placed themselves outside of common decency,” Hedegaard said.

The reaction in Turkey to such outbursts is, however, also predictable given that Turks have had their own ax to grind with Denmark for its alleged protection of PKK militants in the past and various activities by this outlawed group on Danish soil.

The crises with the Islamic world that followed the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad by the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005 did not do much to endear Denmark to Turks either.

Faruk Logoglu, a former Turkish ambassador to Denmark who is a prominent member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told Al-Monitor that it was undoubtedly wrong in principle for Turkey to have released Hedegaard’s alleged assailant.

“Even if it was for the sake of Turkey’s Mosul hostages, the matter should have been handled within a legal framework,” Logoglu said. He also said, however, that he found the Danish position over the incident incomprehensible.

“For years, even before the Justice and Development Party came to power, we furnished their authorities with documents and concrete evidence about PKK militants in Denmark who were being sought by Turkey for acts of terrorism,” Logoglu said.

“We also furnished evidence about other activities by this group in Denmark. But they never acted on any of our requests as they should have, according to the same criteria they are citing against Turkey now,” he said.

That ROJ TV, a channel founded and funded by the PKK and its sympathizers in Europe, still broadcasts from Denmark, despite many applications by Ankara to have it closed down, is a case in point.

Turkish officials say Ankara has provided ample evidence to Danish authorities indicating that this mouthpiece of the PKK is broadcasting directives to terrorists in the field, but has failed to get it taken off the air to date.

Considering this tit-for-tat approach, it is unlikely that the current standoff between Ankara and Copenhagen will loom large on the radar for the Turkish public, if at all, especially since the country is preoccupied with matters pertaining to IS that are seen to be much more vital for Turkey.