A Swedish student who was hailed a hero by the Left for successfully halting the deportation of a 52-year-old Afghan asylum seeker in July has been indicted by Swedish prosecutors.
Twenty-one-year-old Elin Ersson, a student at the University of Gothenburg, refused to be seated on a plane about to take off to Turkey after learning an Afghan passenger was to be deported. Ersson livestreamed her tearful histrionics, racking up well over five million Facebook views, and became an overnight leftist sensation.
It was later learned that the man Ersson interfered for was sentenced for committing assault. His asylum application was rejected and he was, despite Ersson’s effort, eventually deported.
According to The New York Times, Ersson “violated the Swedish aviation act by remaining standing when the plane was set to take off,” says the indictment.
Upon a conviction, Ersson could face up to six months behind bars or fines.
“She did so with the intention of preventing the plane from departing,” said prosector James von Reis, reports Fox New.
Thomas Fridh, who’s representing Ersson, maintains that his client did not violate any laws, saying “she was prepared to follow the orders of the captain on board, and she left the plane as soon as the pilot decided that she should do so.”
During the viral livestream, Ersson said she was “doing what I can to save a person’s life.”
“As long as a person is standing up the pilot cannot take off. All I want to do is stop the deportation and then I will comply with the rules here. This is all perfectly legal and I have not committed a crime,” Ersson told viewers.
The Swedish student again defended her actions as heroic in an email to the Times on Saturday.
“To send someone there is in practice sending someone to their death,” she said. “As someone who is against the death penalty, it is only right to stand up for those who are faced with being deported to a land in war.”
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