Sweden rejects bid to strip nationality from terrorists

Decision to scrap far-right’s proposal comes on same day France decides to take nationality from terror convicts

By AFP 11 February 2016, 10:29 am

Edit

Swedish MPs with representatives of Israel advocacy groups at a January 19, 2016 meeting in Stockholm, including vice chairman of WZO David Breakstone (2nd from right), MP Hanif Bali (3rd from right), MP Mikael Oscarsson (6th from right), and former Israeli MK Dov Lipman (7th from right). (courtesy)

Sweden’s parliament on Wednesday rejected a proposal of the far right to strip people convicted of terrorism of their nationality, as it voted in a new anti-terror law.

The Sweden Democrats’ bid came on the same day that lawmakers in Paris voted in favour of a hotly contested measure to strip convicted terrorists of their French nationality.

In Sweden, only the anti-migrant party’s 45 lawmakers voted for the introduction of the amendment. Another 236 voted against, while 16 MPs from the Left Party abstained.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s parliament adopted its new anti-terror law, which toughens existing legislation.

In a reference to jihadists going to war-torn Syria, the new law punishes those who travel abroad to join a terrorist group with two years in prison.

The law also stipulates those who undergo training to carry out a terrorist act must serve six years in jail, while those who finance a terrorist group must spend two years behind bars.

Those convicted of traveling to another country to seek training or to commit a terrorist act will also be handed two-year sentences.

Sweden’s intelligence service has identified 292 people as having left Sweden since 2013 to join the Islamic State jihadist group, among them 133 who returned home.