Swedish court frees Russian couple, rules citizenship and language alone aren’t grounds for detention
A Stockholm migration court released a married Russian couple from custody after they were detained while on vacation in Sweden, the human rights organization Kovcheg reported.
The court found that the couple — identified only as Semyon and Tatyana — had not misled Swedish authorities about the purpose of their trip and that their detention violated Swedish law.
It also said that Semyon and Tatyana cooperated with Swedish authorities after their detention and that the police had no grounds to believe they would flee during the investigation.
“The mere fact of Russian citizenship, and that they speak Russian, cannot be grounds for a decision on detention,” the Russian Anti-War Committee said, citing the court’s ruling.
Swedish broadcaster SVT reported that police are investigating a violation of the sanctity of a home and preparation for aggravated theft. Police said the suspicions arose solely because the couple had gone onto private property. A lawyer for Semyon and Tatyana said no formal charges had been filed against his clients.
Semyon and Tatyana could still face expulsion from the country and an entry ban, but police said they would not be deported to Russia because they hold Spanish residence permits. If it comes to that, they would be sent to Spain, a police representative told SVT. Kovcheg wrote that the couple must leave Sweden within two days.
News of the couple’s detention first emerged on August 7. Semyon and Tatyana had traveled to the area near the town of Furuvik to hike and fish. They were detained shortly after pitching a tent near the home of a “protected person” and were reportedly deemed a “threat to internal security” before being sent to a migration center.
According to SVT, the home belongs to someone close to Micael Johansson, president and chief executive of the Swedish defense company Saab. Tatyana — described in the report as “a woman who spoke English with an accent” — reportedly entered the cottage’s grounds and asked to fish from the pier on the property. Security guards refused and called police.
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