Swedish police may have to release a 15-year-old suspected of killing a 17-year-old earlier this week by stabbing him to death because they are unable to find a translator for him.
The 15-year-old who is accused of the stabbing may have to be released from police custody Wednesday because they are unable to find someone who can make him understand the charges and present him in front of a judge.
The Swedish police can only hold a suspect for a limited period unless a judge decides to extend the arrest, but without representation through an interpreter the process has stalled, Sydsvenskan reports.
Martin Persson, a councillor at Helsingborg’s District Court, said: “Two of the district court employees have spent the entire day seeking an interpreter through all possible interpreting agencies and other channels. But we simply have not managed to find an interpreter.”
The 15-year-old migrant is accused of stabbing a 17-year-old fellow asylum seeker to death at a locker room in a local gym. Police supervisor Karim Ottosson said the two came into conflict for an unknown reason and the 15-year-old attacked the older asylum seeker with a knife.
The 17-year-old died of his injuries on Monday but the 15-year-old has denied the charges according to his lawyer Olof Wettermark. Despite the denial, police say they have interviewed several witnesses to the murder who claim the 15-year-old stabbed the victim repeatedly.
The case is not the first time an asylum seeker has committed murder in Sweden. The most notorious incident occurred last year when asylum worker Alexandra Mezher was stabbed to death by a Somalian migrant who claimed to be underage but turned out to be an adult.
The story sparked outrage in Sweden and led to many calling for more investigation into underage migrants, the vast majority of whom appear to be adults posing as minors.
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