Thursday October 10, 2024
Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim (left and center), convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, Saga Forsgren Elneborg (right), who was seven months pregnant at the time of her death in Örebro, Sweden. CREDIT / POLICEPolice
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (HOL) — A Swedish appeals court upheld the life sentence of Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim, a 22-year-old man, for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, Saga Forsgren Elneborg, in Örebro, Sweden, in April 2023. Ibrahim had challenged the initial ruling, but the appeal court reaffirmed that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated his guilt. The Örebro District Court convicted Ibrahim of murder in June 2024
In April 2023, Ibrahim murdered 20-year-old Saga, who was seven months pregnant with their child, in her Örebro apartment. The Göta Court of Appeal determined that Ibrahim, fearful of revealing the relationship to his conservative Muslim family, strangled her.
Saga was found dead by her mother, Malisa Elneborg, in her Örebro apartment. Saga had been strangled with a lamp cord, and her body was found under a marble table. The baby boy she was carrying did not survive the attack. Throughout the trial, Ibrahim maintained his innocence, claiming that gang members killed Saga during a robbery. However, investigators found no signs of forced entry, and Ibrahim's defence fell apart under scrutiny.
During his initial trial, Prosecutor Elisabeth Anderson argued it was an honour-related crime. She suggested that Ibrahim's family disapproved of his relationship with Saga, who was of Swedish and Thai descent, and a Christian. Anderson argued that the murder was motivated by a desire to preserve family honour.
Ibrahim claimed that gang members were responsible for Saga's death, alleging they killed her after he revealed that money belonging to them was stored at her apartment. The court dismissed this claim due to lack of evidence.
Ibrahim appealed the verdict, seeking an acquittal and exemption from paying damages. However, the Göta Court of Appeal reaffirmed the original conviction. "The cumulative weight of the evidence leaves no doubt that the defendant killed the woman," said Carina Tolke, the presiding judge in the Court of Appeal, in a press release.
While the District Court ruled that the crime was honour-related, the Court of Appeal found insufficient evidence to prove this motive definitively; one lay judge expressed dissent, believing there was enough evidence to support the honour-related motive.
Saga's family expressed relief that the court reaffirmed the life sentence. "This was a heartless murder. Saga had her whole life ahead of her, and she was excited to become a mother," said the family's lawyer, Elisabeth Massi Fritz.
Ibrahim's case has also stirred discussions within the Somali diaspora in Sweden, as Honour killings are particularly rare in Somali culture. Ibrahim's mother, Istar Yusuf Nuh, expressed her sorrow and disbelief, stating that she would have accepted Saga regardless of her background and was looking forward to becoming a grandmother. "I would have been happy to become a grandmother, especially a young grandmother."