Wanted by Assad Intelligence, Sweden to deport Syrian refugee

Swedish authorities issued a decision to deport a Syrian refugee after completing his four-year prison sentence in March 2020 for kidnapping and assaulting a resident for competitive reasons between the two merchants.

A source close to the refugee Samir Ahmad Mardini, who is currently detained in the city prison of Sala in Fastmanlands province, said that the Swedish authorities had contacted the Syrian embassy in Stockholm about deporting Samir and to ensure that he was not wanted by Syrian security services. The embassy replied that Mardini, who was born in the countryside of Damascus in 1977, is not wanted for arrest nor would he be at risk if returned to his country, and that it is willing to issue a one-time Syrian travel document for him and to cooperate with the Swedish authorities to deport him.

Mardini is still being held either until the decision of his deportation is issued at the final session scheduled to take place on January 17, 2021, or in case the deportation process is once again postponed due to the coronavirus.

According to the source, Samir requested through his lawyer that his deportation is cancelled arguing that the Syrian’s embassy’s insurances are false since he is indeed wanted for arrest by the General Intelligence Department, as the documents shared by Zaman al-Wasl confirm.

In June 2011, Samir was arrested in Syria by one of the security branches (Al-Khatib Branch-251) and was tortured for three months, the effects of which are still visible. He was released after his family had paid a bribe to an officer in exchange for smuggling him out from al-Musa hospital, to escape after that towards Jordan and then to Sweden in 2014.

Samir requested that, if the Swedish authorities insisted on deporting him, his destination to be any country other than Syria. After his wife passed away a few months ago, he asked to be deported to Jordan where his 8-year old daughter is staying alone in a refugee camp, however, the Jordanian authorities rejected his request. Samir had previously lost his sister and his mother. 

Samir’s relative said to Zaman al-Wasl that he holds the Swedish authorities that issued the decision to deport him, fully responsible before Swedish law, international human rights law and human rights organizations, for what happens to Samir, whose life and safety are threatened if he is to be returned to the regime’s clutches. The relative called on Swedish authorities to take the documents presented and confirmed by Zaman al-Wasl as proof, and to repeal the deportation order against Samir.

While we can confirm that the information presented is authentic and taken verbatim from official documents and regulations, Zaman al-Wasl accepts no responsibility or liability for the safety of any person or persons who may rely entire on the accuracy or the completeness of the information contained within these documents, which do not necessarily include all the names wanted by the regime since there are multiple sources and lists that are subject to periodic updates.