SADDAM’S BODYGUARD TO BE DEPORTED

An Iraqi man who claimed to have worked as a bodyguard for Saddam Hussein is to be deported from Sweden despite findings by the Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket) that his life is at risk if he returns to Iraq. The government decided to deport the 45-year-old man because the Swedish security service Säpo judges the man to be a security risk. The man came to Sweden in 2003, and his wife and sons have all been granted permanent residency. The man explained in his asylum application that he had worked as a bodyguard for the family of the deposed Iraqi leader, as well as in a secret court where prisoners were tortured. But the man is nevertheless set to be deported from Sweden because of Säpo’s assessment. According to lawyer Birgitta Elfström, who works with human rights issues, the government is making the wrong decision. She claims it is against the law to deport someone whose life is at risk, even if that person is a security risk.