Dumped refugee demands compensation

A man deported in 1995 from Sweden to Ghana, despite the fact that he came from Uganda, is demanding compensation from the Swedish state after being imprisoned and tortured in the west African country.

"He has had his life destroyed," the man's lawyer Per E Samuelson told Sveriges Television's (SVT) Rapport news programme.

The case of so-called refugee dumping was revealed in 2001 and the man was one of eleven refugees whom the Swedish got rid of in Ghana. A Swedish consul is reported to have received several hundred thousand kronor from police to manage the handover.

The Ugandan man came to Sweden in 1993 but after a language test conducted by the Aliens Appeals Board (part of the Migration Board which was closed in 2006), it was concluded that he was from Ghana and he was later deported there, ending up in prison.

"They locked me up and tortured me. The other prisoners harassed me continually," the man told SVT.

A police inspector had submitted a guarantee that Sweden would stand for the return flight if it was shown that the man was not Ghanian, a promise that was however never kept.

The man has now found his way back to Sweden after 15 years and is demand several million kronor in compensation from the Swedish state.