The Afghan man (33), who worked as an interpreter and was evacuated from Afghanistan to Denmark with his family, has been sentenced to prison and deportation after a grotesque stabbing death of his wife. The five children are allowed to stay in Denmark.

Rita Karlsen

Published:
21.11.2022 – 16:17

Up to date:
21.11.2022 – 16:39

Said Bahram Sherzad, who worked as an interpreter for Danish forces in Afghanistan, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison at the Court in Sønderborg for stabbing his wife to death. He has also been sentenced to deportation from Denmark with a permanent entry ban. In addition, he is denied the right to inherit his wife, and must pay a so-called etterlatte compensation to the children of a total of 1.2 million Danish kroner, reports news agency Ritzau.

The 27-year-old woman was stabbed to death on 29 January at Asylsenter Aaløkke in Løgumkloster. She was stabbed 26 times in the head and body. At least one of the children was present during the grotesque murder.

The Afghan man came to Denmark with his wife and the couple’s five children in August 2021. They were among those who were evacuated when the Taliban took over power in the country.

– You have killed mother

Sherzad denied intending to kill his wife but admitted violence resulting in death. He tried to excuse himself by saying that he had been drinking alcohol and that he could not control himself.

He explained in court that he and his wife often argued after they came to Denmark. According to the interpreter, the disagreement was, among other things, about how the children should be brought up. In addition, he suspected her of being unfaithful to him and seeking sexual contact with other people at the asylum centre.

– She didn’t want to hear. She wanted to hurt me, Sherzad claimed in court.

A witness, who is the defendant’s chain, has explained that he was on the phone with the 27-year-old woman when she was attacked. Suddenly there was a commotion at the other end of the line.

– A few seconds pass, then I can hear the daughter say: You killed mother.

The court found that the stab wounds were so numerous and carried out with such force that he must have realized that she would probably die.

Will stay in Denmark

In court, however, he opposed the demand for deportation.

– My children need me, I need them, Said Bahram Sherzad said.

That he needs the children, I allow a lot of strength to doubt, but of course he needs them: as a lever to stay in Denmark. The child, who is one year old, was located at a residence after the murder. They have all received residence permits in Denmark, and without an abusive father with a distorted view of women, they probably have better opportunities for a good future in Denmark. According to the prosecutor, the child’s residence permit will not be affected by the father’s deportation.

Defender Lone Adolphsen believed that it would not be justifiable to send him back to his home country.

– If we send the defendant back to Afghanistan, there will be a great risk that he will be persecuted for the work he has done for the UN, she said in her closing remarks.

Convict has asked for time to think about whether he wants to appeal the verdict to the Court of Appeal.

To short time ago a pregnant Afghan woman (37) was killed in Denmark, her throat was cut. The murder suspect is an Afghan man (24), while an Afghan woman (33) is suspected of having a role in the case.

Money

The Short Newspaper has previously told about ex-major Leif Dalby-Frandsen’s experiences from Afghanistan. Among other things, he has pointed out that many in the Afghan army and many of the interpreters employed by Denmark do not represent our Western values ​​of freedom:

“What all the interpreters had in common was that none of them supported us Westerners for moral, political and ethical reasons. None. That was the salary. The salary was – by Afghan conditions – fantastically high, and therefore work as an interpreter was also highly sought after. The interpreters did it for the money”, according to Dalby-Frandsen.

Many of the Afghan interpreters are probably rooted in Afghan culture, characterized by violence, a corrupt clan and tribal culture and the oppression of women. A large part of them are probably valid for democracy or right and delete opponents of democracy.

Many Afghan interpreters, with families (with a limitation to “just” one wife), have been granted residence in Norway as a result of their work for the Norwegian Armed Forces. In January this year, it was a demonstration outside the Ministry of Defense that Afghan interpreters gathered with following message:

– We have helped Norway for many years, now it is Norway’s turn to help us.

The poster with the text “Norway has a moral obligation to help us!” speaks for itself, and the obligation also applies to the interpreters’ families, but no one asks about the financial motives for having undertaken such assignments for foreign forces in Afghanistan. They must have known about the risk.

I March this year told then Minister of Defense Odd Roger Enoksen (Sp) that during the evacuation from Kabul, Norway received around 115 employees of Crisis Response Unit personnel. With family members included, this was around 525 people. In addition, Norway received all local employees at the embassy and all who were local employees for the Armed Forces at the end of the Resolute Support Mission. He went on to say that “an application system which can take care of several of those who are still in Afghanistan” had come into place.