Swedish prosecutors indict woman who blocked deportation

BERLIN – Swedish prosecutors say they have indicted a 21-year-old woman for breaking aviation laws after she blocked the deportation of an Afghan asylum-seeker earlier this year.

Prosecutors said Friday the woman failed to comply with orders from the plane’s crew to sit down as it was preparing to take off from Gothenburg airport on July 23. The woman, Elin Ersson, had intentionally purchased a ticket for the flight, saying the Afghan man would “most likely get killed” if he was sent home.

Ersson live-streamed her protest to Facebook from inside the Turkish Airlines plane that was due to fly from Goteborg to Istanbul, and then on to the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The man and Ersson were eventually both removed from the plane after a tense standoff.