A Swedish appeals court has sparked international outrage after ruling that an Eritrean refugee who raped a 16-year-old girl will not be deported because the sexual assault “didn’t last long enough” to constitute an “exceptionally serious offense.”
Yazied Mohamed, now 19, attacked Meya Åberg on 1 September 2024 as she walked home through a pedestrian tunnel in Skellefteå after missing her bus following her shift at McDonald’s.
The Court of Appeal for Upper Norrland (Hovrätten för Övre Norrland) sentenced Mohamed to three years in prison and ordered him to pay 240,000 kronor (approximately £17,500) in damages to his victim – but rejected the prosecutor’s deportation request, citing the rape’s “duration” as a mitigating factor.
Attacked Walking Home From McDonald’s
The assault occurred when Meya missed her bus and was walking through a pedestrian tunnel after finishing her shift at McDonald’s.
An African man took her phone, grabbed her and followed her into the tunnel where he raped her before she managed to break free and flee.
“I was completely destroyed,” Meya told local outlet Norran, describing the trauma of the attack.
Family Reported Immediately
Meya and her family reported the incident to police immediately following the assault.
The swift reporting and cooperation with authorities demonstrated the family did everything right – yet the justice system’s response has left them feeling betrayed.
Initially Freed Due to “Lack of Evidence”
The then-18-year-old man was arrested but acquitted in district court due to insufficient evidence.
Only after prosecutors appealed did the appeals court take a different view and convict Mohamed of rape.
The initial acquittal meant Meya faced the horror of seeing her attacker walk free before justice was eventually ser ved on appeal.
Saw Rapist at School
In a devastating detail, on Meya’s first day back at school after the assault, she spotted her attacker – suggesting Mohamed may have been a fellow student or known to her from the school.
The psychological trauma of encountering one’s rapist in what should be a safe environment is difficult to comprehend.
Three Years Prison, 240,000 Kr Damages
The appeals court sentenced Yazied Mohamed to three years in prison and ordered him to pay 240,000 kronor in damages to Meya Åberg.
The three-year sentence for raping a minor has itself drawn criticism as insufficient, with many arguing that violent sexual assault of a child should carry far harsher penalties.
Prosecutor Sought Deportation
Mohamed is a citizen of Eritrea and the prosecutor sought his deportation following conviction.
However, the court determined his refugee status protected him from removal despite his violent crime.
“Duration” of Rape Considered
The court’s reasoning has sparked particular fury. The Court of Appeal cited, among other factors, the “duration” of the rape in its assessment that deportation was not warranted.
“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.
The suggestion that rape can be measured by duration to determine whether it’s “exceptionally serious” has been met with widespread revulsion.
Swedish Refugee Law
To deport a refugee, Swedish law requires that the crime committed “constitutes an exceptionally serious offense and it would pose a serious threat to public order and safety to allow them to remain in Sweden.”
This high threshold for deporting refugees means even convicted rapists can remain if courts determine their crimes don’t meet the “exceptionally serious” standard.
SD Lay Judge Dissented
Lay judge Sammy Lie of the Sweden Democrats party dissented and wanted to deport Mohamed.
Unlike the majority, I believe that the crime is an exceptionally serious offense and that it would pose a serious threat to public order and safety to allow Yazied Mohamed to remain in Sweden. Yazied Mohamed’s connection to Sweden is not such that he should not be deported,” Lie wrote in his dissenting opinion.
The lone dissent highlights how the decision reflects judicial interpretation rather than unanimous agreement on the law’s application.
Meya: “I Hate Him”
“I want to say that I hate him and that he has destroyed me,” Meya told Norran.
Her raw statement of the devastating impact captures how the court’s decision to allow her rapist to remain in Sweden compounds her trauma.
International Outrage
The ruling has generated fierce criticism internationally, with commentators describing it as emblematic of Sweden’s failed immigration and justice policies.
Conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote: “Sweden’s lost the plot. A country that once prided itself on fairness and safety now bends over backward to protect the ‘rights’ of predators over its own children.”
“The suffering of a 16-year-old is now measured in minutes,” he added, capturing the grotesque nature of using rape duration as a metric.
Pattern of Non-Deportations
The Meya Åberg case is far from isolated. Sweden has repeatedly refused to deport refugee criminals despite serious offenses:
- In July 2025, the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden ruled that Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed, a 27-year-old Eritrean with 196 documented charges including throwing feces and urine at prison staff, attacking police with stones, and threatening neighbors with a knife, could not be deported because his crimes weren’t “extremely serious” enough.
- Four Eritrean men who gang-raped a 40-year-old woman in 2022, filming the assault, faced deportation requests that were ultimately rejected.
The pattern suggests Swedish courts systematically interpret refugee protection laws in ways that shield even violent criminals from removal.
Two-Thirds of Rape Convictions
In Sweden, almost two-thirds of those convicted of rape since the beginning of the century are migrants in the first or second generation.
This statistic, whilst often downplayed or ignored by Swedish authorities, reflects the disproportionate impact of migration on sexual violence rates.
“High Trust Society” Unraveling
Tech investor Shaun Maguire commented: “A ‘refugee’ goes to Sweden. Rapes a 16 year old girl. And doesn’t get deported. This is how a high trust society becomes low trust, and then unravels.”
The observation captures how judicial decisions that prioritize migrant criminals over native victims erode the social cohesion that makes Nordic societies function.
Sweden’s Rape Crisis
Sweden has experienced a dramatic increase in sexual violence correlating with mass migration from the Middle East and Africa.
Gang rapes, once virtually unknown in Sweden, have become disturbingly common, with multiple perpetrators often filming assaults.
Yet Swedish authorities have been reluctant to acknowledge the connection between migration and sexual violence, often citing anti-discrimination concerns.
Legal Reform Demanded
Critics argue Swedish refugee law requires urgent reform to allow deportation of violent criminals regardless of refugee status.
The current framework, designed to protect genuine refugees fleeing persecution, has been exploited by criminals who commit serious offenses then hide behind refugee protections.
Measuring Rape By Minutes
The court’s reference to rape “duration” as a factor determining deportation eligibility represents perhaps the most offensive aspect of the ruling.
The suggestion that a “quick” rape is somehow less serious than a prolonged one defies moral comprehension and ignores the lifelong trauma inflicted on victims.
For Meya Åberg, the “duration” of her assault is irrelevant – her rapist destroyed her sense of safety and she must now live knowing he remains in Sweden rather than being removed.
Political Implications
The ruling will fuel support for the Sweden Democrats and other parties demanding tougher immigration enforcement and deportation of criminal migrants.
Mainstream parties that have resisted deportation reforms now face public fury over cases like Meya’s where the justice system appears to prioritize protecting migrant criminals.
“Refugee in Need of Sanctuary”
The Western Sweden appeals court concluded in the Ahmed case that despite his 196 charges and violent behavior, “Ahmed Ahmed is therefore a refugee in need of a sanctuary in Sweden.”
This framing – portraying violent criminals as victims requiring protection – encapsulates how Swedish refugee law has been twisted beyond recognition.
As Meya Åberg lives with the knowledge that her rapist walks free in Sweden after serving just three years, the court’s “duration” reasoning stands as a monument to how progressive legal frameworks can produce grotesquely unjust outcomes when applied by judges more concerned with protecting migrant rights than native victims.
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