Life sentence for Somali refugee who killed his pregnant girlfriend in Sweden

Saga Forsgren Elneborg
Age: 20
Strangled: April 29, 2023
Residence: Örebro, Sweden
Origin: victim: Sweden, perpetrator: Somalia
Children: none
Perpetrator: Friend

On April 29 last year, the body of Saga Forsgren Elneborg, 20, was found by her mother. Saga was found strangled in her bed at home in the city of Örebro.

Forensic examination revealed that she had been murdered during the night. Suspicion soon turned to her boyfriend, 22-year-old Somali migrant Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim.

He initially denied any involvement in the crime and blamed another person. During the investigation, however, it became clear that he was the perpetrator. According to the prosecution, his family, relatives and clan did not want to accept that he had a white Swedish girlfriend. That he was also expecting a child with her was unthinkable.

The solution Mohamedamin came up with was to kill Saga. He strangled her while she slept; she was seven months pregnant at the time.

On June 5, Mohamedamin was sentenced by the Örebro court to life in prison for murder. He must also pay compensation of more than 85,000 euros to Saga's next of kin.

“The prosecution has also shown that the murder was honor-related, which the court considers an aggravating factor in sentencing.”

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.