Swedish State Broadcaster Journalists Charged With Smuggling Syrian Migrants

(AP) – Three employees with Swedish broadcaster SVT face charges of having smuggled a 15-year-old Syrian boy to the Scandinavian country during the 2015 migrant influx that swept across Europe.

Reporter Fredrik Onnevall was making a documentary on the migrants when he met the unaccompanied minor in Greece who wanted to go to Sweden. One of Europe’s top destinations, Sweden received a record 163,000 asylum applications in 2015.

Onnevall, his cameraman and interpreter appeared before Malmo’s District Court, saying they were documenting the teenager’s trip by car, ferry and train. Onnevall admitted paying for a car rental knowing the boy had false papers. In Sweden, the boy was granted permanent asylum.

It wasn’t immediately clear when a verdict was expected.