A student arrested the deportation of an Afghan by refusing to sit on a plane

By Samantha Schmidt | The Washington Post

Throughout the world – from Chicago to Munich to Roskilde, Denmark – airports have become centers of political protest against deportations. Activists blocked the airport entrances, demonstrated in front of the fences and even stormed a runway to try to stop flights carrying evicted people.

This week, a Swedish student tried a different approach. When Elin Ersson learned that an Afghan was due to be expelled from Sweden on Monday, she bought a ticket for the same flight. Once aboard the plane at Gothenburg airport, Ersson refused to take a seat in the driveway, until the 52 – year – old deportee was released.

Her dramatic act of civil disobedience, which she lives live on Facebook. English, forced the flight to be delayed by two hours, according to Swedavia, the company that operates the airport. In the end, his efforts were successful – at least for the moment. The Afghan deportee was escorted out of the plane before his takeoff.

"I will not sit until this person leaves the plane," Ersson said on the Facebook video, which has now been viewed over 2 million times. "The pilot has the right to say that he is not allowed to be in the plane."

If the man was deported to conflict-ridden Afghanistan, she told people around her "that he would most likely be killed."

While she continued to film and refused to sit, passengers and flight attendants are heard more and more frustrated on video

"Sit back, we want to leave" said a voice.

The air hostess told him repeatedly to turn off his phone, because the airline's safety demonstration was underway. "You have to sit and turn it off or you can leave the plane," says the flight attendant. He explains that the flight is to Istanbul, where the authorities will then escort the deported to a flight to Afghanistan. "In Istanbul, they will decide what to do," says the flight attendant.

"I do not want to take away a man's life just because you do not want to miss your flight," Ersson replies. She insists that what she does is perfectly legal. She only films her face, rarely showing the faces of those around her, for reasons of privacy.

The hostess says that the crew is "not allowed to do anything like this" because the deportee was accompanied by the Swedish authorities. "

One hears a passenger angrily encourage her to stop, telling her that she" upsets all the people there. "I do not care what you think. . … and what about all those kids that scare you? "

He grabbed Ersson's phone before a flight attendant gave it back to him.

" It's the rules of your country, "another passenger told him. trying to change the rules of my country, "she replies. "It's not good to send people to hell."

"But you are preventing all those customers from going to their destination," the man said.

Children can be heard crying, and passengers can be seen the aisles as the 14-minute video progresses. But others on the flight seem to support his efforts. A group of passengers begins to applaud Ersson. "We are with you," a Turk told him. Ersson starts crying while she sees a football team at the back of the plane getting up.

"I do not know if they are trying to listen to what I say, but as long as they are standing, this At the end of the video, we hear a flight attendant say to Ersson that "you and this passenger will not fly."

As the policeman said at the age of 52. Ersson left on his own, Hans Uhrus, press officer for Swedavia Airports, told the Washington Post

It is unclear what happened to each of them after they departed from the plane, but the deportation Ersson wrote on Facebook: "It does not happen. There was only one person on this flight today, but there will be others, "she said on the video

.The authorities confirmed that the man Afghan remains in detention and would eventually be deported.

Despite Ersson's assertions The police told DW that she could face fines or even a jail sentence for refusing d "To obey the orders of a pilot while she was in a plane

." obstruct the flight and delay dozens of passengers. "We may not know all the details of the case, but I'm amazed at his bravery, his compassion and his determination to save a man's life," writes a supporter on Twitter.

. "You have all sent us a message to defend what we believe in without moving away from what is right," writes another.

Ersson's protest comes as the countries of the European Union are tightening their borders more and more.