Extradition Difficult As Several Suspected Murderers Flee Sweden To Iraq

Swedish authorities have lamented possible difficulties in extradition after several suspects in murder cases have fled to Iraq to avoid arrest and possible prosecution.

Swedish prosecutor Krister Petersson stated that he is investigating two cases of suspected murder in Örebro County involving several suspects from Iraq who have fled back to the country to escape prosecution.

According to Petersson, the cases are difficult as extraditing the suspects from Iraq could be a challenge for Swedish authorities as all of the suspects involved have Iraqi citizenship, Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio reports.

“I am optimistic in my nature but realize that they are in Iraq and are Iraqi citizens so it will be difficult to get them extradited. But if they leave Iraq, there is a possibility that another foreign country will arrest them and [send] them to Sweden,” Petersson told the broadcaster.

Murder cases involving fatal shootings continued at record levels last year and a report from earlier this month claimed that s many as 85 per cent of the suspects in fatal shootings are either migrants or come from migrant backgrounds.

Sweden’s National Police Chief Anders Thornberg also admitted that immigration and integration have played a role in the country’s issues with criminal gangs.

“It is based on a number of different factors. A sharp increase in demand for drugs, accelerating technological development and digitalisation, increased migration and lack of integration,” Thornberg said earlier this month at a conference.

Sweden is not the only European country to face challenges with migrants fleeing overseas after being accused of committing serious crimes, such as murder.

An Afghan migrant who fled Denmark after being linked to a murder case and had been wanted for several years asked Denmark to take him back last August when the Taliban took over the country, claiming that he was in danger.

In 2018, 20-year-old Ali Bashar was accused of murdering a Jewish teen in Germany and fled to Iraq to escape arrest. However, Bashar was soon arrested in northern Iraq by Kurdish authorities and shipped back to Germany where he was later convicted of the murder of 14-year-old Susanna Maria Feldman.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com