The verdict against the man who last year raped 16-year-old Meya has reverberated around the world.
The Court of Appeal said no to the man’s deportation, which has upset many Swedish politicians.
Now Leif GW Persson goes out to defend the law.
– I don’t understand what you are scolding, he says in Nyhetsmorgon.
Meya was 16 years old when she was assaulted and raped on her way home from work in Skellefteå.
The article in brief
A 16-year-old girl was raped in Skellefteå last year.
The perpetrator, aged 18, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment in the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal said no to deportation, which caused strong reactions.
Politicians and well-known profiles have criticized the verdict.
Leif GW Persson defends the right and believes that the legislators bear the responsibility.
The man who raped her was 18 at the time. He was acquitted in the district court but was sentenced in the court of appeal to three years in prison.
However, the prosecutor had requested deportation. It denied the right to, citing that they judged that the crime was not particularly serious.
Anger at the judgment
The verdict has stirred up strong feelings among many and caused several politicians to react. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) has opened to change the system for deportation.
His ministerial colleague Johan Forssell (M) has called it a “double violation” against Meya that the man is allowed to remain in Sweden.
In addition, profiles such as tech billionaire Elon Musk and the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. have raged against the Court of Appeal’s ruling on social media.
GW: That’s exactly how it should be done
But crime guru Leif GW Persson does not join that crowd.
In TV4’s Nyhetsmorgon, he says that the court made a correct assessment.
– If there is anyone to scold, it is the legislators, he says.
GW believes that it is the government – where Kristersson and Forssell sit – that is responsible for the laws that the court used when they decided on the outcome.
– They have gone to court and said that “it must not happen this way”. Well, this is exactly how it should go if they are to follow the legislation that the likes of Kristersson, Forsell and Strömmer and all the others have laid down.
If the Court of Appeal had decided to deport the man, they would have “approached” the law you are meant to follow, says GW.
– I wouldn’t lose sleep if this cuckoo had been deported, but then the legislator must make sure to create the necessary basis for that to happen, he says.
