National

Regional

Taiwan, HK, Macao

Special Coverage

Focus

Society

Profiles

Sweden grants asylum to suspected terrorist

(China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-02-19 07:42

STOCKHOLM: A Swedish immigration court yesterday granted asylum to a Chinese Muslim who was released from Guantanamo Bay after the US acknowledged "he was not a terrorist".

The court overruled the Swedish Migration Board's decision to reject Adil Hakimjan's request to stay in Sweden.

Hakimjan, an ethnic Uygur, fled to Afghanistan and was caught by US-led forces as a suspected terrorist. He and four other Uygurs were released from Guantanamo in 2006 and sent to Albania because it was the only country that was ready to take them.

In yesterday's ruling the Swedish court said it had considered that Hakimjan's sister lives in Sweden and the circumstances under which he was made to apply for asylum in Albania.

China has called for speedy return of all Chinese terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay.