An Afghan citizen is in custody on suspicion of murder in Kiruna, the northernmost town in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland. A 21-year-old man was stabbed to death on a bus by a migrant family. Three suspects, a 47-year-old man, Mohammad-Jawad Ahmadi, and his two minor sons, have been under arrest for the murder. All three of the individuals are Afghan citizens, but the 15 and 17-years-old sons also have Swedish citizenship.
The Swedish Migration Agency was asked to give an opinion on whether a deportation to Afghanistan for the father can be enforced.
From available country information it appears that according to the constitution in Afghanistan, the right of followers of other religions are permitted to exercise their faith within the framework of the law. But the constitution also states that no laws may violate the teachings of Islam.
There is very limited religious freedom in Afghanistan. In addition, there is mainly societal discrimination against practitioners of other religions, and also against Muslim minority groups, including some Shiite groups, according to their opinion.
Conversion from Islam is prohibited and may result in the death penalty under Sharia law and representatives of religions other than Islam are not permitted to conduct missionary work (Human Rights in Afghanistan 2013, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Lifos 32508 p.14).
Ahmadi now claims he is at risk of being subjected to harassment in Afghanistan due to his conversion from Islam. Therefore, the Swedish Migration Agency considers that if he returns to Afghanistan, he risks persecution due to his new religious affiliation.
In light of this, the Swedish Migration Agency maintained that “obstacles” against a possible expulsion decision exist.