A 32-year-old man was sentenced in the district court and the court of appeal for gross unlawful threats, gross weapons crime and causing bodily injury to imprisonment for six years and six months. He was also expelled from Sweden with a ban on re-entry. The gross weapons crime consisted of that the man, who had taken drugs, was in unlawful possession of a loaded pistol in a public place and in a criminal environment in which it could typically be assumed to be used for criminal purposes.
The man came to Sweden more than ten years ago as a refugee. An alien who is a refugee is subject to special restrictions on expulsion on the grounds of a crime. He or she may be expelled only where the alien has committed a particularly serious crime and it would entail serious danger to public order and security to allow him or her to stay in Sweden, or where the alien has engaged in activities in Sweden or abroad that have entailed a danger to national security and there is reason to assume that he or she would continue such activities here. The case in the Supreme Court has mainly concerned whether the gross weapons crime is such a particularly serious crime.
The expression particularly serious crime is used in the Aliens Act in more places than in connection with expulsion on the grounds of a crime. The same requirements apply to denying a declaration of refugee status and to revoking a declaration of refugee status. In the latter parts, the regulation derives from an EU directive (the Qualification Directive) and from international refugee law under the Geneva Convention.
According to the judgment, the expression particularly serious crime should be interpreted in a uniform way in the Aliens Act and does not have the same meaning as the domestic classification of particularly serious that exists for certain types of crimes, such as particularly serious assault and particularly serious weapons crimes.
On the basis of EU case law, it is established that the scale of penalties for the crime can serve as a guide for whether a crime is to be regarded as particularly serious, unless other circumstances indicate otherwise.
The serious weapons crime is considered to be a particularly serious crime under the Aliens Act. It is also stated that allowing the man to stay in Sweden would entail serious danger to public order and security. There are no other obstacles to expulsion according to the judgment. The man is expelled without a time limit. The Supreme Court also affirms the sentence of six years and six months imprisonment.
Case no: B 1865-25
Case name
”The Refugee’s Weapons Crime”
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