An Eritrean refugee convicted of raping a 16 year old Swedish girl will not be deported after a court ruled the assault did not last long enough to qualify as an exceptionally serious offense.
Yazied Mohamed, 19, attacked Meya Åberg in September 2024 while she walked home through a pedestrian tunnel in Skellefteå after missing her bus following a shift at McDonald’s. He grabbed her phone, dragged her into the tunnel and raped her until she managed to break free.
Åberg and her family immediately reported the incident to police. Mohamed was initially acquitted in district court due to lack of evidence, but after prosecutors appealed, the Court of Appeal convicted him and sentenced him to three years in prison. He must also pay 240,000 kronor (around 19,000 pounds) in damages to Åberg.
Despite prosecutors demanding deportation, the Court of Appeal for Upper Norrland rejected the request, stating that given the nature and duration of the offense, while serious, it does not constitute an exceptionally serious offense warranting deportation. Under Swedish law and the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees, deportation of refugees requires that the crime constitutes an exceptionally serious offense and poses a serious threat to public order and safety.
Lay judge Sammy Lie, from the Sweden Democrats party, dissented from the majority ruling. Lie wrote that he believes the crime is an extremely serious crime and that it would pose a serious danger to public order and security to let Mohamed remain in Sweden.
Åberg told Swedish newspaper Norran that she had to stop attending school after repeatedly seeing Mohamed at school, at work and around town. “I want to say that I hate him and that he has destroyed me,” she told the newspaper, according to reports.
Former British Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi described the case as insanity, writing on social media that it was an injustice to the girl and her family. Zahawi added that if the law is inadequate, then authorities should change the law.
The decision has sparked widespread debate in Sweden and internationally about refugee protections and deportation thresholds for serious crimes. Since 2000, nearly two thirds of convicted rapists in Sweden have been first or second generation migrants, according to statistics reported by Swedish media.
Mohamed 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 there was no current threat to public order, so Mohamed will serve his sentence in Sweden and will not be returned to Eritrea.
