Swedish justice ruled that the attack was 'not serious enough' to justify the deportation of the assailant
The Alto Norrland Court of Appeals decided that Yazied Mohamed, an 18-year-old Eritrean refugee convicted of raping Meya Åberg, 16, will not be deported once he serves his sentence.
The attack occurred on September 1, 2024, when the young woman was walking home after missing the bus following her shift at McDonald’s. In a pedestrian tunnel, she was intercepted and sexually assaulted by Mohamed.
The victim and her family reported the incident immediately. The court sentenced him to only three years in prison, but the tribunal ruled that the rape "did not last long enough" to be considered an "exceptionally serious crime" and, therefore, did not apply deportation.
According to Swedish law, refugees can only be expelled if they commit a crime considered "exceptionally serious" or if they pose a "serious threat to public order and security."
In its ruling, the tribunal stated that, although the crime was serious, "the duration of the attack" was one of the determining factors for not considering it within that category.
"Rape, in many cases, is considered an exceptionally serious crime that could justify the deportation of a refugee. However, each case must be evaluated individually. Given the nature and duration of the incident, the court considers that it doesn't constitute an exceptionally serious crime that warrants deportation," the Court wrote in its ruling.
The perpetrator has refugee status and protection under the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), which restricts expulsion except in extreme cases. The tribunal concluded that there was no current threat to public order, so Mohamed will serve his sentence in Sweden and will not be returned to Eritrea.
The decision caused national outrage. Various sectors questioned that the court prioritized the perpetrator's immigration status over the seriousness of the crime. Local media and political leaders demanded a review of the deportation law for cases of sexual offenses.
The case reignited the discussion about the limits of the Swedish judicial and immigration model, where asylum laws prevent the deportation of refugees even after violent crimes. The government is considering tightening expulsion criteria in a context of growing public pressure over insecurity linked to repeat foreign offenders.