Yazied Mohamed, convicted of raping 16-year-old Meya Åberg, will not be deported after serving his prison sentence. The ruling comes from the Alto Norrland Court of Appeals in Sweden. Yazied is an 18-year-old Eritrean refugee.

The assault took place in September 2024, when Meya was walking home after missing her bus. It was after her late shift at McDonald’s. Yazied attacked her in a pedestrian tunnel.

The victim and her family reported the incident immediately. However, the court sentenced him to only three years in prison. According to the tribunal, the rape “did not last long enough” to be classified as an “exceptionally serious crime”.

Under Swedish law, refugees can only be deported for crimes considered extremely serious. They may also get deported if they pose a major threat to public safety.

The court said that, although the attack was grave and traumatic, its short duration prevented it from meeting the legal criteria for deportation. The court’s decision has sparked widespread outrage and debate across Sweden.

“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,” a local news outlet quoted the court as writing in its ruling.

“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 added.

The court’s decision not to deport Yazied Mohamed has caused widespread outrage across the country. Yazied is protected under the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention, which allows for expulsion only in the most extreme cases. That is why he won’t be sent back to Eritrea, a north-east African country on the Red Sea coast.

Many critics argue that the court gave more importance to his refugee status than to the crime’s seriousness. The ruling has renewed debate about Sweden’s lenient deportation laws for violent offenders. There is a need to tighten asylum protections to ensure justice for victims, according to them.

What if a foreigner commits a crime in India

If a foreign national commits a crime in India, the accused is tried in Indian courts. If convicted, they must complete the sentence given, such as jail time or fines.

“If the case registered against the foreign nationals ended in conviction, they shall be ordered to be kept in regular prison of the State till they serve their sentence, and after serving the sentence, they shall be kept in detention centers till, they are deported to their country,” according to a 2023 ruling by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.