Police slammed for botched deportation
Police from Gävleborg in eastern Sweden "deserve serious criticism" for deporting a man to the wrong country in October of last year, the Ombudsman for Justice has ruled.
The 53-year-old man applied for residency in Sweden in 2002, but his application was rejected.
In October 2010 the police in Gävle in eastern Sweden were instructed to deport him back to Iran.
However, police instead deported him to Iraq where he risks 15 years in prison for claiming to be an Iraqi citizen.
The incident was reported to the Ombudsman, who has now directed strong criticism towards the police.
"Through their headstrong actions", the police ignored the rule of law in the asylum process, the ombudsman argued.
The ombudsman found that a person being deported has to accept being sent to the country agreed upon, and that Iraq was never an option.
According to acquaintances of the man's sister, the man remained in jail at a police station in Baghdad on November 16th.
"I travelled to Baghdad and got to visit my brother at the police station. He was in a dark cell without electricity along with several others. I could barely see him behind the bars," the man's sister told the Dagens Nyheter daily at the time.
The man is still in jail in Baghdad.
Comments
See Also
The 53-year-old man applied for residency in Sweden in 2002, but his application was rejected.
In October 2010 the police in Gävle in eastern Sweden were instructed to deport him back to Iran.
However, police instead deported him to Iraq where he risks 15 years in prison for claiming to be an Iraqi citizen.
The incident was reported to the Ombudsman, who has now directed strong criticism towards the police.
"Through their headstrong actions", the police ignored the rule of law in the asylum process, the ombudsman argued.
The ombudsman found that a person being deported has to accept being sent to the country agreed upon, and that Iraq was never an option.
According to acquaintances of the man's sister, the man remained in jail at a police station in Baghdad on November 16th.
"I travelled to Baghdad and got to visit my brother at the police station. He was in a dark cell without electricity along with several others. I could barely see him behind the bars," the man's sister told the Dagens Nyheter daily at the time.
The man is still in jail in Baghdad.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.