Swedes can’t give residence permit to terror attack victim

COPENHAGEN – Sweden’s justice minister says a Ukrainian woman who lost her leg in the deadly Stockholm terror attack cannot be granted a permanent residence permit out of compassion.

Morgan Johansson said Thursday such a permit can’t be given to Iryna Zamanova because “clemency only applies to criminal cases, not residence permits.”

Zamanova, a tourist, got a temporary permit after the April 7, 2017, attack to give evidence in the trial of Rakhmat Akilov, who drove a stolen truck into a crowd in Stockholm. Akilov was given a life sentence in June 2018.

She then applied for a permanent permit, which was turned down by authorities who said she can’t provide for herself in Sweden and medical care is available in Ukraine. Zamanova then sought the government’s clemency.