Sweden reverses decision on Egyptian handed over to CIA

Mar 1, 2007, 9:35 GMT

Stockholm - An Egyptian national who was handed over to the CIA in 2001 and deported to Egypt in a much-criticized decision would be allowed to reapply for asylum in Sweden, the Swedish government said Thursday.

Migration and Asylum Minister Tobias Billstrom said the cabinet had also ordered the chancellor of justice to investigate possible demands for compensation from Mohammed al-Zari.

The Swedish Migration Board was also instructed to review al- Zari's possible renewed application for asylum, Billstrom said.

The decision mirrored recent recommendations by the UN Human Rights Committee that criticized Sweden over the renditions of al- Zari and fellow national Ahmed Agiza.

The two were in December 2001 handed over to CIA agents and flown to Egypt where they were suspected of terrorist activities.

Terrorist suspects often risk torture in Egypt but the former Swedish government relied on assurances from Cairo that the two men would not be ill-treated.

Agiza has alleged that he was ill-treated on return according to among others the New York-based group Human Righrts Watch.

'Against the backdrop of the former government's faulty treatment that I and many others have criticized, I am very pleased with the decision,' Billstrom said.

The decision has been criticized by various human rights bodies including the Council of Europe and the UN Human Rights Committee.

Freelance reporter Fredrik Laurin who made an acclaimed television documentary on the renditions to Egypt said the government had made a 'fantastic decision,' he told Swedish radio.