Sweden: Algerian "suspect" held
01 September 1995
The Swedish Minister of Justice, Laila Freivalds, has decided to keep an Algerian citizen in custody despite conclusive evidence that he was in Sweden at the time of the bombing of the Paris metro for which France is demanding his extradition.
Abdelkrim Deneche, who has lived in Sweden since 1991, has been held in custody by Swedish authorities because France says he is suspected of being involved in the bomb attack at the Paris Saint-Michel metro station on 25 July. He has been held in custody since 22 August. But now the results of an investigation by the Swedish National Laboratory of Forensic Science proved what he has always maintained - that he was in Sweden at the time of the bombing - and the forensic tests now show that a signature was indeed his and was made at the time of the bombing.
He was originally arrested by the Swedish Security Police on suspicion of murder as a French police officer claimed he had seen the man close to the Metro at the time of the bombing. This information was given to the Swedish police by a French juge d'instruction, Jean-Francois Ricard, who made a special trip to Stockholm on 18 August to arrange a quick extradition. On 24 August a French magistrate issued an international arrest warrant for him. Deneche told the police that three people could vouch for his presence in Sweden on the day of the bombing. This supported his statement that he had withdrawn money from a post office that day and had to produce documents and give his signature. It is this signature which was examined forensically and established his alibi conclusively.
Although the murder charge was dropped the Swedish Security Police then asked the government to expel him under the Swedish anti-terrorist law (Lag 1991: 572 om särskild utlänningskontroll). The Government decided to keep him in custody for one month, and then another month. This gave the French authorities the chance to apply for extradition which has to be granted by the Swedish Supreme Court. The French Interior Minister told Le Monde that "the Algerian military-security police give us false information, in order to make us chase people they don't like".
The Swedish anti-terrorist laws have, in different forms, been in force for more than 20 years and lack the legal safeguards of the law on extradition. Under this law 37 foreign citizens have been expelled or put under "municipal arrest" without trial (see Statewatch, vol 3 nos 2 & 3). The government can, under the law, expel without trial or refuse entry to any foreign citizen it is suspected will commit a crime including violence in order to attain a political purpose or if in the government's view it is necessary for "national security" reasons. There is only a hearing, not a trial, without the suspect or their lawyer being able to present evidence. Similarly, if the government is considering a case under the terrorist law the public prosecutor is not allowed to proceed with criminal proceedings. If a decision is taken to expel a "suspect" there is no opportunity for them to defend themselves against the charge in a Swedish court.