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Dumped refugee demands compensation

TT/The Local
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Dumped refugee demands compensation

Peter Ekweri, a man deported in 1995 from Sweden to Ghana, despite the fact that he came from Uganda, is demanding compensation from the Swedish state after being imprisoned and tortured in the west African country.

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"He has had his life destroyed," Ekweri's lawyer Per E Samuelson told Sveriges Television's (SVT) Rapport news programme.

The case of so-called refugee dumping was revealed in 2001 and Ekweri was one of eleven refugees left by the Swedish authorities in Ghana. A Swedish consul is reported to have received several hundred thousand kronor from police to manage the handover.

Ugandan Ekweri first came to Sweden via war-torn Sudan in 1993, but after a language test conducted by the Aliens Appeals Board (part of the Migration Board which was closed in 2006), it was concluded that he was from Ghana and he was subsequently deported there, ending up in prison.

"They locked me up and tortured me. The other prisoners harassed me continually," the man told SVT.

A police inspector had submitted a guarantee that Sweden would stand for the return flight if it was shown that he was not Ghanian, a promise that was however never kept.

Peter Ekweri has now found his way back to Sweden after 15 years and is demanding several million kronor in compensation from the Swedish state. His case for compensation will be decided on by the Migration Court.

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