MP and C can stop
Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

MP and C can stop tightening the law on detention of children

MP and C want to stop the government's proposal for stricter rules governing the detention of children who do not have the right to reside in Sweden. To do so, they are invoking an unusual rule. Putting children in detention deprives them of their liberty and is not a reasonable arrangement, says Niels Paarup-Petersen (C).

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During Sunday's debate, MP and C will jointly submit a request for a so-called suspension of the government's proposal for stricter detention regulations, which will be voted on Monday.

A declaration of suspension is a measure in the Instrument of Government that allows a minority in the Riksdag to suspend a proposal that may violate fundamental freedoms and rights. It has been used very rarely by the parties.

To carry the declaration of suspension, one-sixth of the votes is required.

According to Annika Hirvonen, the MP group leader in the Riksdag, everything indicates that they will succeed in their move.

I would say this is a crystal-clear case for which this emergency brake in the constitution was made, she says, adding that the entire opposition is with them in the vote.

After the vote, it is the Riksdag's Constitutional Committee that reviews whether the criteria in the Instrument of Government are formally met.

The Center Party's migration and integration policy spokesperson, Niels Paarup-Petersen, emphasizes that the measures concern parts of the law that tighten rules on the detention of children and that it is important to have functioning return operations.

But putting children in detention is depriving them of their liberty; it is not a reasonable measure. These people have not committed any crimes either, he says.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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