The 31-year-old who went on a knife attack in a playground in France had lived in Sweden since 2013. He received a permanent residence permit – but has been stopped several times from Swedish citizenship. The reason was that the man was part of the Syrian army, which is said to engage in torture. A man with connections to Sweden was arrested yesterday on suspicion of having attacked a large number of children with a knife. According to his own statement, the man previously held a high position in the Syrian army Four small children and an adult were stabbed in a playground in Annecy in France on Thursday morning. The condition of all five is life-threatening. A sixth person received minor injuries. Witness videos from the attack show how the man randomly attacks people in a playground. Dressed in a headscarf and sunglasses, he repeatedly slashes at children in prams while people around try to fend off the attack. The perpetrator who was arrested is a 31-year-old Syrian citizen who is still registered in Västra Götaland. He came to Sweden in the summer of 2013 and was granted a permanent residence permit in the autumn of the same year. Public documents show that the 31-year-old studied Swedish and English at Komvux during his time in the country. Last summer, he was sentenced to a suspended sentence and daily fines of SEK 2,500 for subsidy violations. This after registering as unemployed and receiving A-kassa at the same time as he studied and received a student grant from CSN. The district court also stated in the judgment that he lives “under orderly conditions”. Participated in Syrian army raids The man applied in November 2017 for Swedish citizenship but was quickly denied. In August 2018, he submitted a new application to the Swedish Migration Agency, which in February 2022 said no. The justification for the rejections was that the 31-year-old participated in the Syrian army from June 2011 to December 2012. He was then, among other things, group commander and “watchman” with responsibility over others in the military. The man himself said in a previous investigation that he was “in the field and arrested people a few times” and had been involved in raids where they “retrieved people from a residence”. In addition, according to his own statement, he “was armed and participated in battles during this period.” The Migration Agency and the Migration Court stated that the army in question “repeatedly and systematically committed war crimes” and that the 31-year-old is therefore not granted Swedish citizenship. “(The Syrian military) committed extensive illegal detentions. As of November 2011, it is estimated that at least 3,500 civilians have been killed by government forces since March 2011 and that thousands have been reported detained, tortured and ill-treated.” “UNHCR states that Syrian regime forces are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations. before the crisis broke out in 2022, the Syrian regime was responsible for illegal abductions, but the scale increased significantly in connection with the crisis in 2011.” “Full of sadness and anger” The agency also states that you do not need to actively participate in the gross abuse to be denied citizenship, but that it is enough to have been part of the organization. “You have been active in the Syrian army after March 2011. The Migration Agency assesses that not enough time has passed since you were active in the Syrian army to now be granted Swedish citizenship,” writes the authority. In August, the 31-year-old sent in his third application for citizenship in Sweden, something the Migration Agency has not yet provided information about. His Swedish ex-wife stated yesterday that the man left Sweden after being denied citizenship and that they had no contact for four months, and that she filed for divorce.During his time in Sweden, the man also filed a JO notification, when he considered that he had been judged unfairly by his teacher at the time. The man then writes, among other things, that he is: “full of sadness and anger”.
t4-general