Swedish Court Affirms Life Imprisonment for Somali Man Found Guilty of Killing Pregnant Partner

Convicted of a heinous crime, Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim stands accused of taking the life of his girlfriend, Saga Forsgren Elneborg, who was seven months pregnant in Örebro, Sweden. CREDIT: POLICE

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AX): A Swedish appeals court has maintained the life sentence of Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim, a 22-year-old man previously found guilty of murdering his expectant girlfriend, Saga Forsgren Elneborg, in Örebro in April 2023. Ibrahim had contested the ruling, but the appeals court affirmed that the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to his guilt. The Örebro District Court initially handed down a guilty verdict in June 2024.

It was in April 2023 when Ibrahim ended the life of 20-year-old Saga, who was carrying their child, inside her Örebro apartment. The Göta Court of Appeal concluded that Ibrahim, fearing the exposure of their relationship to his traditional Muslim family, resorted to strangulation.

Saga’s lifeless body was discovered by her mother, Malisa Elneborg, in the Örebro flat. Tragically, she was strangled using a lamp cord and placed beneath a marble table. The unborn child also perished in the attack. Despite Ibrahim’s declaration of innocence, insisting that gang members were responsible during a theft, investigators found no signs of a break-in, unraveling his defense.

Prosecutor Elisabeth Anderson, during the trial, posited that the act was motivated by honor, suggesting Ibrahim’s family didn’t approve of Saga, who was of Swedish and Thai origin, and followed Christianity. She asserted that the crime was driven by the need to preserve family pride.

Though Ibrahim pointed fingers at gang members, claiming they acted after he disclosed money stored at her place, the court found no evidence supporting this assertion.

Ibrahim sought to overturn the verdict and evade compensation, yet the Göta Court of Appeal stood firm. “The evidence leaves no doubt of his culpability,” stated Carina Tolke, the lead judge in the appeal court, through a press announcement.

Although the District Court viewed the crime as honor-related, the appeals court found the evidence insufficient to conclusively uphold that motive; a dissenting voice among the lay judges believed there was merit to the honor claim.

Saga’s family felt a semblance of solace with the court’s decision to uphold the sentence. “It was a ruthless act. Saga had dreams of motherhood and a bright future,” asserted the family’s legal representative, Elisabeth Massi Fritz.

This case has sparked conversations within Sweden’s Somali community, as such honor-related crimes are unusual in Somali culture. Ibrahim’s mother, Istar Yusuf Nuh, voiced her grief and disbelief, mentioning she would have welcomed Saga, appreciating the prospect of being a grandmother. “I was looking forward to becoming a grandmother, especially at this young age,” she said.

Edited by: Ali Musa

Axadle international–Monitoring