For a decade, the notorious Islamist was able to work with vulnerable young people in schools, residential care homes and youth care facilities – despite the fact that the Swedish Security Police had kept tabs on the man and prevented him from becoming a security guard.
The man was later convicted of eight rapes against a 17-year-old girl – but by then he had already been bought out by two municipalities for a total of around SEK 1 million (€90,000).
In February 2023, the then 30-year-old middle school teacher was arrested by the police after it emerged that he had raped a teenage girl at a residential care home in Örebro where he worked extra with homework help.
During the investigation, Hallsberg municipality suspended the man, but when he was acquitted in the district court and the verdict was appealed to the court of appeal, they chose instead to buy him out for 12 months’ salary – about €45,000, according to the state television SVT’s review.
Neither the care home nor the school has done any background check on the man before he was hired and thus does not know that he previously had another name and was identified by the Swedish Security Police (Säpo) as a radical Islamist who expressed support for the Islamic State and was linked to several jihadist groups.
– He is married into a family that is the hub of much of the radical Islamist ideology at this time, says Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism researcher at the Swedish National Defense University.
Bought out – again
In 2018, Säpo put a stop to the Islamist’s plans to become a security guard – but two years later he was still granted a teaching license – because the information from Säpo never reached the Swedish National Agency for Education.
Over the past ten years, the man has worked at six schools, two youth care facilities and one residential care home home – and in the midst of the ongoing rape case, he is employed at a new school – this time in Surahammar municipality.
Too late they realize their mistake and the Islamist is bought out again – this time for about €45,000 in the form of 12 monthly payments.
– We think it is inappropriate that he is still working, Mikael Svensson, HR manager at Surahammar municipality, told the channel.
Will not comment
Just weeks later, the now 32-year-old man was also sentenced to six years in prison by the Court of Appeal for raping the teenage girl – but the municipality continued to pay his salary even after the man was jailed.
– I can’t comment on the individual case, but in general the agreement means salary during an extended notice period, explains the HR manager.
The teenage girl victimized by the man is still in therapy to deal with the trauma she suffered, and representatives of Säpo or the shelter do not want to be interviewed.
“When hiring for a position that is not placed in a security class, no register check is carried out, with certain exceptions”, Säpo writes in an email response.
