What stopped Finland from deporting the man who raped an 85-year-old?

Finnish authorities have been unable to deport a foreign citizen convicted of multiple violent rapes because of strict legal limits. The case highlights a complex clash between public safety and international human rights obligations.

Nahom Hagos, a twenty-nine-year-old Eritrean citizen, was convicted of raping an eighty-five-year-old woman in an Oulu apartment building laundry room in 2020.

The violent assault required the elderly victim to receive hospital treatment for her injuries.

Hagos served a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence before being released, after which he committed two additional rapes in 2023, including an assault against an acquaintance.

Some Finnish MPs and several public-sector groups have strongly demanded his deportation, but immigration officials say legal barriers prevent his removal.

Tirsa Forssell, head of the control department at the Finnish Immigration Service, told the media that the human rights situation in Eritrea is extremely dire.

The United Nations has documented widespread repression, torture, and mandatory military service in the country.

Under the principle of non-refoulement, people cannot be returned to countries where they face a clear threat to their life or safety.

Finland strictly builds international human rights treaties into its refugee and immigration laws.

As a result, even people who commit grave crimes cannot easily be deported if they face a clear risk of torture or capital punishment upon return.

Minor administrative infractions or minor offenses often lead to quick residence permit revocations or student deportations. Severe criminal cases, however, can become entangled in these human rights protections.