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TV team convicted of human smuggling for bringing Syrian teen to Sweden

By Freddy Mayhew

Three employees with Swedish public service broadcaster SVT have been sentenced to community work after being convicted of human smuggling.

The team brought a 15-year-old Syrian boy to Sweden during the 2015 migrant influx that swept across Europe.

Malmo District Court said it was “obvious the SVT team helped for purely humanitarian reasons”.

Reporter Fredrik Onnevall, his cameraman and interpreter were making a documentary on the migrants when they met an unaccompanied minor in Greece who wanted to go to Sweden.

They wanted to document his trip by car, ferry and train.

Before the court, Onnevall admitted paying for a car rental and knowing the boy had false papers.

In Sweden, the then 15-year-old boy was granted permanent asylum.

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It was not immediately clear whether the ruling would be challenged.

Picture: Reuters

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