The number of people deemed to be a security risk to Sweden has increased by 25 per cent in 2021 according to the Swedish Security Service (Säpo) despite, many having deportation orders.
In 2020, Säpo reported that there were around 200 people in Sweden they deemed to be a security threat to the country but last year that number increased by 25 per cent to 250, and some are reported to be foreign nationals.
Gabriel Wernstedt, press secretary at Säpo, commented on the issue saying, “Even if these individuals are not Swedish citizens and in many cases have deportation orders, it is not always possible to enforce the deportations, as the individuals may, among other things, risk being exposed to threats and violence in their home countries.”
Wernstedt made his comments to the Doku foundation, a group that monitors Islamic extremism in Sweden and whose investigative work has been cited by Swedish newspapers in recent years.
According to the foundation, Säpo has difficulty not only in getting extremists to return to their countries but also has difficulties in getting the countries to take back their nationals.
The case of radical Imam Abu Raad is one such case in which the Swedish migration board had approved his deportation after a request from Säpo, who deemed him to be a security risk.
However, Raad, who has previously been arrested by police, appealed the move and despite the request being granted in 2019, still remains in the county and was accused of spreading a rumour that the Swedish government was kidnapping Muslim children from their families earlier this year and continues to preach in the al-Rashideen mosque in Gävle.
Raad, along with his son Raad al-Duhan, have both claimed that if they were returned to their native Iraq they would face persecution.
Last year, Anas Khalifa, a former radical Salafist preacher for over 20 years, claimed that radicalism has become so common in Swedish mosques that radicalism is present in every mosque across the country and noted radical ideas were particularly popular among young people.
“I have travelled from Boden to Ystad, lectured in associations and mosques for several years, and I have always found someone who is Salafist there,” he said.