An Iranian citizen, born in Iraq, was accidentally deported to Iraq from Sweden last year. Now he is sitting in a Baghdad jail, and risks 15 years in prison for claiming to be an Iraqi citizen, Swedish newspaper Expressen reports.
The reason for the mistake is not known, but the local Swedish police say they were given the go-ahead from the Iraqi authorities and that the man never protested. The immigration authorities say that the man was supposed to go to Iran, but that the case is now out of their hands, since it is an issue between Iran and Iraq at this point.
The man, who is in his 50s, is an ethnic Kurd, and was deported to Iran along with 300,000 others in the early 1980s by Saddam Hussein.
“He is in a very bad shape. He is a diabetic and is not given proper food or care,” Emma Persson, the man’s lawyer told Expressen. She also said that his sister, who is a Swedish permanent resident, has gone to Iraq to try to negotiate his release, but has not been successful.
A complaint against the local police office that made the mistake has been filed to the Swedish Ombudsman for Justice.
Iranian Man Deported to Wrong Country Faces 15-Years in Jail
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By Aron Lam
11/16/2011
Updated: 11/16/2011
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