Swedish Student Elin Ersson Indicted For Grounding Flight To Protest Deportation Of Afghan Felon

Elin Ersson, the Swedish student who was hailed a “hero” for refusing to sit down on a flight in order to prevent the deportation of an Afghan migrant, has been indicted for violating federal aviation laws.

According to the indictment, Ersson “violated the Swedish aviation act by remaining standing when the plane was set to take off,” Fox News reported. She could be fined and sentenced to up to six months in jail if convicted.

The controversy erupted in July, when Elin Ersson grounded a flight bound for Turkey from Gothenburg, Sweden, by refusing to sit down.

Migrant Had Served Jail Time For Beating His Wife

Ersson, who cried in the emotional Facebook livestream video, said she was heartbroken because she didn’t want the Afghan refugee deported back to Afghanistan after his asylum application to Sweden was denied.

“I am doing what I can to save a person’s life,” Elin sobbed. “As long as a person is standing up the pilot cannot take off. All I want to do is stop the deportation. I’ve done it as an individual, as an activist, as a human being.”

Ersson was celebrated as a hero for standing up for a refugee, even though her protest disrupted the travel schedules of all her fellow airline passengers because the flight never took off.

Further investigation showed that the Afghan migrant Elin Ersson championed had served jail time after being convicted for assaulting his wife and daughters, according to the Swedish news website, Fria Tider.

One day after Ersson’s stunt, the migrant was deported back to Kabul, Afghanistan, so her protest was really for naught.

Sweden Buckles Under Mass Migration Of Refugees

In recent years, Sweden has accepted more refugees per capita than any country in Europe, Foreign Policy reported.

Sweden took in 190,000 refugees in 2015 alone, according to the country’s Migration Agency. That’s staggering, when you consider that Sweden’s entire population is less than 10 million.

The massive wave of immigration — largely from people fleeing war zones in the Middle East — has strained Sweden’s generous welfare system.

Swedish Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson said asylum costs are untenable in the long term.

“We are going to need to borrow money,” said Andersson.

Even liberal Swedes — who are known for their tolerant society — admit the situation is out of control, especially since many migrants do not assimilate into Swedish society by learning the language or adapting to Swedish cultural norms.

“We’ve taken in more than we can help, and I don’t think that’s OK,” Anna Lennartsdotter Lindbom told USA Today. “If we don’t get them to understand how our society works when they have grown up under a different system — that can be a problem.”

Lindbom said she’s “usually a liberal voter,” but now, many of her friends, neighbors, and colleagues are considering voting for right-leaning politicians. “A lot of people are saying they are the only party willing to take up the immigration question,” she said.