 A terror suspect who says he could be tortured if sent back to Jordan is embarking on a last-ditch attempt to stay in Sweden. Hassan Assad is expecting Sweden's supreme court to decide on his deportation within a month. Meanwhile he has become a cause celebre for liberal and left-wing politicians and human rights organizations.
| Seeing as Mumia doesn't quite have the same cachet any more ... |
Assad is accused by the Swedish security police, Säpo, of working undercover for terrorist organizations and funding terrorist activities. In an interview with The Local, he denied the charges, explaining that he has been providing aid for the welfare of Palestinians. According to the Red Cross, if Assad goes back to Jordan, his country of citizenship, he is likely to be tortured in police interrogation. This, they say, would make his deportation a breach of local and international human rights laws.
| He came to Sweden but instead of learning Swedish, enjoying hockey and eating lutefisk he decided to wage holy war. Now he learns even for the tolerant Swedes, he's gone too far and they're going to ship his butt back from where he came. Said original home turns out to be a relative shithole, especially if the government doesn't like you much. You think Hassan ever considered any of this when he got off the boat in Malmö? |
Despite these protests, the deportation has been given the green light by the Swedish Migration Minister, Tobias Billström, who said he had enough evidence to accuse Assad of terrorism. Amnesty International denounced the decision as a contravention of UN and international human rights laws. Bengt Westerberg, head of the Swedish Red Thingy Cross and a former Liberal Party leader, said that all Assad has been accused of is 'helping Palestinian refugees living in dire conditions.'
A Jordanian of Palestinian origin, Assad said he has been an activist for the ‘Palestinian cause,’ working with Palestinian solidarity groups registered in Sweden. According to him, these groups have been arranging festivities for Palestinians in Sweden, and sending financial aid to improve the standards of living for Palestinians in the Middle East. Assad is directly linked to an organization called Sanabel Al Aqsa, which arranged for Palestinians in Sweden to meet with Atef Uddwan, the Palestinan Minister for refugees, in Malmö. Sanabel Al Aqsa is registered as a terrorist organization in the United States.
Assad said that following the meeting Säpo arrested a Swedish member of the organization, named Khaled, but released him after three days, as “they found nothing against him.” Later, they offered Hassan a sum of money “in exchange for my undercover service.” He said they told him that they would ask him to travel to different destinations and to report on the activities of different groups. “I told them, if I see a threat to Sweden’s security I would naturally let them know about it immediately.” He added that he refused to cooperate for ideological reasons.
| Did he let them know that immediately as well? |
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