Tony Chambers

A Swedish court has ruled that the Eritrean migrant who raped 16-year-old Meya Åberg won’t be deported because the rape didn’t last long enough. The rape took place on September 1st last year when Meya missed her bus and was walking through a pedestrian tunnel after finishing her shift at McDonald’s. Meya and her family immediately reported it to the police. The 18-year-old Eritrean migrant, named Yazied Mohamed, was sentenced to 3 years in prison for rape. Mohamed is a citizen of Eritrea, and the prosecutor sought his deportation. However, the Court of Appeal noted that the man has refugee status. Under Swedish law, deporting a refugee requires that the crime committed constitutes an “exceptionally serious offense” and that allowing them to remain in Sweden would pose a “serious threat to public order and safety.” The rape of 16-year-old Meya was not deemed serious enough to justify deportation, with the Court of Appeal citing, among other factors, the “duration” of the rape in its assessment. “Rape is, in many cases, considered an exceptionally serious offense that could lead to the deportation of a refugee, but an assessment must be made based on all circumstances in the individual case. Given the nature and duration of the offense in question, the Court of Appeal finds that while the crime is serious, it does not constitute an exceptionally serious offense that would warrant a deportation order for Yazied Mohamed. The request for deportation is therefore rejected,” the Court of Appeal for Upper Norrland wrote in its ruling.