Sweden – The Swedish student who livestreamed her protest against the deportation of an criminal Afghan asylum seeker was convicted. She was only fined 3000 Krona or 324 euros, and will not receive any jail time.
The 22-year-old “Elin Ersson” has been convicted for a violation of air traffic legislation.
The woman refused to sit down on a flight to Istanbul on July 23, so that the flight could not leave. For example, she protested against the deportation of an criminal Afghan refugee who was ordered to be deported with the same flight. The live stream of her protest from in the plane in Sweden went viral. The video has been viewed millions of times.
The flight could only leave after two hours when the activist and the fifty-year-old Afghan man had left the plane.
The judge ruled that Ersson was aware of the criminal consequences of ignoring the pilot’s order to take place. The public prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of two weeks, but the judge held it at a fine.
Ersson’s lawyer, Tomas Fridh, said he would appeal the decision. He states that his client acted out of moral considerations and that Afghanistan is not safe for returnees. The 52-year-old Afghan man was later deported to Afghanistan.
Ersson is a member of an activist group from Gothenburg that regularly organizes protests against deportations to Afghanistan. She was actually on the plane to prevent the expulsion of a 26-year-old asylum seeker. He was not on the run. When she had seen the other asylum seeker, she continued her protest.
