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US deports ex-criminal to Sweden

James Savage
James Savage - [email protected]
US deports ex-criminal to Sweden

A 25-year-old man who has lived his entire life in the United States has been dumped in Sweden by American authorities.

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Charlie Edgmon was born in Sweden and is a Swedish citizen, but moved to Seattle with his mother as a baby. He speaks only English, and leaves three children behind him in Seattle, Aftonbladet reports.

He was deported from the country on Tuesday, accompanied by two US immigration officials who left him at Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

Edgmon has been convicted of drug and gun crimes and has spent three years of his life in jail. He told Aftonbladet that he did not know how he was going to manage in Sweden, where he is staying with acquaintances of his mother in Järna, 50km south of Stockholm.

Support from Swedish authorities has been limited and the local benefit office in Järna had no forms in English, the 25-year-old said.

"The social welfare office told me to get a job. How am I going to do that? I can't even read the job ads," he said.

Edgmon's story is similar to that of another Swede, Stefan Nystrom, who was deported to Sweden in January after a life of crime in Australia. His deportation caused a storm in Australia, where he had lived for all but 27 days of his 32 years, but Edgmon's story has not been widely reported in the US.

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