‘I’m trying to save his life’: Tearful Swedish student REFUSES to sit down on plane to stop the man behind her being deported to Afghanistan – risking jail as she forces the flight to be cancelled
- Elin Ersson, 22, was sat in front of a 52-year-old man being deported to Kabul
- Activist refused to take her seat as he was being deported and ‘could be killed’
- The Afghan man is eventually let off the plane but Swedish authorities have said he will be deported and she could face up to six months in prison
A Swedish student has won the praise of thousands by protesting the deportation of a man ‘who will lose his life’ if sent to Afghanistan.
Elin Ersson, 22, was sat in front of a 52-year-old Afghan man on a Turkish airlines flight from Gotenborg in Sweden to Istanbul, where her fellow passenger was due to change flights and to fly to Kabul.
In an act of civil disobedience, the student took out her phone and streamed a 14-minute video where she walked about the plane explaining the man ‘will most likely get killed’ if he’s deported.
In an act of civil disobedience, the student took out her phone and streamed a 14-minute video where she walked about the plane explaining the man ‘will most likely get killed’ if he’s deported
Knowing the flight would not be able to take off while she was standing, the activist refuses to take her seat until the Afghan man is let of the plane.
Cabin crew and other passengers ask her to sit down at start of the clip, which she insists she will do as soon as the man is let go. By the end of the clip the other passengers join in her protest and even applaud her.
Eventually the man is let off the plane and his deportation is prevented.
However, Swedish authorities have since said the Afghan man will still be deported, although a date has not been set.
They also claim the activist could face up to six months in prison for refusing to obey police orders.
Elin Ersson, 22, was sat in front of a 52-year-old Afghan man on a Turkish airlines flight from Gotenborg in Sweden to Istanbul, where her fellow passenger was due to change flights and to fly to Kabul
Swedish authorities claim the activist could face up to six months in prison for refusing to obey police orders
She has been widely praised on social media since livestreaming the video on Facebook.
The video has racked up almost two million and she has been branded a ‘hero’ on Twitter.
One person said: ‘Thank you for your stand, for your courage, compassion and hope’.
Another added: ‘This is what a superhero looks like’.
The video has racked up almost two million and she has been branded a ‘hero’ on Twitter
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