Two Iraqi migrants will remain in Sweden after serving their custodial sentences for the gang rape of a Swedish woman onboard a cruise ship after a court rejected deportation requests by the public prosecutor because the duo were deemed to have “integrated” into Swedish society.
Mazin Al-Sharash, 36, and Akar Bajorani, 32, were sentenced to six years and five years and three months respectively for aggravated rape of a woman during a 24-hour cruise between Stockholm and Mariehamn on Sept. 10 this year.
The Stockholm District Court heard how the duo had grabbed the woman and ushered her into a cabin before hitting her in the face, pulling her hair, spitting and urinating on her and both raping her during a four-hour assault.
The court found that the pair had “acted with particular recklessness and brutality” during the sentencing hearing.
The public prosecutor had pushed for deportation orders for the foreign gang rapists after serving their sentences, however, the court rejected this request.
It held that Al-Sharash, who had arrived in Sweden from Iraq back in 2018 had become a Swedish citizen in 2021, and as such it would not be appropriate to deport him. Despite his citizenship, Al-Sharash required an Arabic translator to assist him during the trial.
Bajorani came to Sweden from Iraq in 2008 as a teenager but is not a Swedish citizen. He was, however, deemed to have “integrated” into Swedish society due to the fact that he has two children who are Swedish citizens and is expecting a third. He is also proficient in the Swedish language.
“Bajorani has integrated by learning Swedish and supporting himself through work, mainly as a taxi driver,” the court’s judgment read, as cited by the Samnytt news outlet.
Talking to Samnytt following the judgment, public prosecutor Emma Svedberg revealed that she was considering an appeal of the court’s decision which she believes to be too lenient for the severity of the offense.
“I think it is satisfactory that both men have been convicted of aggravated rape. At the same time, the district court has arrived at a shorter prison sentence than I have requested,” Svedberg said.
“The district court has not reached the conclusion that the man whom I requested to be deported should be deported,” she added.