© ReutersRefugees on a stairway leading up to trains at the Hyllie train station outside Malmo, Sweden
A story about a Swedish student being hailed as a 'hero' for temporarily stopping the deportation of an Afghan man has taken a surprising twist after it emerged that the migrant 'victim' had reportedly been sentenced for assault.
The 'deportation drama' unveiled on board an airliner about to take off for Turkey from the Swedish city of Gothenburg earlier in July.
Elin Ersson purchased a ticket after learning that a 52-year-old Afghan asylum seeker would be on the plane, as he was being sent back to his home country.
Live-streaming the whole event on her Facebook page, Ersson explained the reasons behind her protest amid tense and emotional scenes.
"There is a man who is going to get deported to Afghanistan, where he will most likely get killed," she said in the footage, adding that she would not "sit down until this person is off the plane."
"All I want to do is stop the deportation and then I will comply with the rules here. This is all perfectly legal and I have not committed a crime," the lone activist can be heard saying.
The emotive video gathered almost five million views and Ersson has since amassed some 50,000 followers on Facebook.
People branded the girl "a hero" and thanked her for her courage.
Comment: Well said. Most people don't actually care about Russia - there are bigger problems at home. Take a look around you. Did Russia cause the immigration crisis? No, the US did with its imperialist polices in Central America. Did Russia move US industry overseas? No, the corporations did to get tax breaks and cheap labour. Did Russia destroy the education system? No, insanely high college tuition and terrible policies like common core did. Did Russia turn US healthcare into a debtors prison? No, that was the US. Did Russia cause the extreme income inequality in the US? No. US again. We could keep going but you get the picture. Yet the media would have everyone believe that Russia the problem. See also: