He states that the information about the death penalty is very serious and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is acting to ensure that the sentence is not carried out.
At the government’s summer coffee with journalists, Billström confirmed that there are three Swedes who have been sentenced to death for being involved in a shooting in Iraq.
When asked why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going so hard and condemning the death penalty against the three men who have been singled out as gang criminals, Billström replies:
– We are always opposed to the death penalty regardless of where it occurs or who it is aimed at. It is a matter of principle.
The victim of the shooting has also been identified as a gang criminal.
Serious stuff
According to the foreign minister, it is “completely uninteresting” whether the men are gang criminals or not.
– The death penalty is something we always oppose, in all contexts, says Billström.
– You can impose a prison sentence instead.
The Foreign Ministry will now summon Iraq’s chargé d’affaires to protest against the death penalty.
– These are serious matters for which they have been charged. We do not oppose the legal process but the penalty. You can be in favor of harsh punishments and still be against the death penalty, says Billström.
Unconfirmed information
When asked whether the government has the ambition to bring the men sentenced to death home to Sweden to serve their prison sentences here, Billström first states that “we will have to come back to that”.
However, he later adds:
– There is no principle that says that you must be transferred to Sweden to serve your prison sentence on Swedish territory. It is fine to do it in other places too.
The Foreign Minister also states that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has unconfirmed information that a fourth Swedish citizen has also been sentenced to death for drug-related crime.
The Swedish embassy in Baghdad is in contact with local authorities and has had some contact with the detainees, as well as with relatives.