A man whose deportation from Australia sparked international criticism of the federal government is again in custody in Sweden after committing a series of offences.
Swedish sentencing documents obtained by SBS reveal Lars Stefan Nystrom has been convicted 47 times, for which he has been in and out of prison, since his deportation from Australia in 2006.
Nystrom, 38, is known as “The Australian” in Skanninge, a country town he frequents because he does not speak Swedish and relatives live nearby.
His family in Sweden are not in touch regularly because he drifts as a homeless man between friends' houses and prison, Nystrom's cousin said.
Nystrom's mother, an Australian resident, brought him back from Sweden 27 days after his birth where he lived until his visa was cancelled in 2006 due to his lengthy criminal record.
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The deportation was ruled as a violation of his human rights by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), which in a landmark case said Australia was bound to facilitate his return.
It was the first time the UNHRC had ruled that the right of a person to enter his “own country” applied to a non-citizen.
The court documents, filed in Linkoping district court, reveal the decline of a man who, according to his sister Annette Turner, has relapsed into mental illness after his deportation.
“He hasn't coped well. He's angry, suffers depression, is paranoid, he thinks that people are chasing him,” said Ms Turner, who lives in Melbourne.
In September 2008, Nystrom was first picked up in Skanninge on a series of charges such as unlawful force, trespassing and carrying a concealed knife and sentenced to eight months' prison.
Seven subsequent court verdicts since then show a litany of charges ranging from repeated misdemeanours such as being under the influence of amphetamines and cannabis, threatening officials, high-range drink driving, theft and assault.
Nystrom has been arrested on several occasions for shoplifting food and threatening those who tried to stop him. He has stolen money from a church donation box and once entered a general store with an axe, a court heard.
Rachel Ball from the Human Rights Law Centre in Australia said the charges were consistent with a homeless, hungry man struggling with addiction.
“I have no doubts his condition has been aggravated by his deportation. In the nine years between his crimes in Australia and his deportation, he was responding well to treatment,” Ms Ball said.
“He had his family, it was his home, he knew the system and spoke the language,”
In September 2008, court documents reveal that Nystrom became aggressive and agitated when a doctor denied his request for a medical certificate that his lawyer in Australia would use to assist in his case for repatriation.
He then allegedly threatened to “slit the doctor's throat and throw him out of the window” if he did not comply.
“I'd rather be dead than stay in this country,” Nystrom allegedly said.
In sentencing on his most recent charges, the magistrate noted that “his psychological state has declined and he hears voice hallucinations” and that he has “heavy ongoing, undealt with addictions to amphetamines and alcohol,” the court heard.
Last year, another magistrate said there was “no evidence that he suffers serious psychological problems warranting his committal into a psychological institution.”
However, during Nystrom's most recent conviction in March 2012, the court agreed to step up his psychological supervision while in custody, but noted this was not a factor in his latest crimes.
According to testimony given by the Linkoping parole authority, “Nyström has been deported from Australia because of his criminal lifestyle, all he wants is to return to Australia, he has a history of addiction that he somewhat wants to escape and that the authority concludes that there is the a need for supervision.”
“The latest diagnosis is that he has a personality disorder, anti-social, narcissistic and paranoid traits,” the court heard.
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen is standing by both the previous government's decision to remove Nyström and the decision to reject the UNHRC's finding that he should be repatriated.
“Australians expect that people coming to live in Australia respect our laws. All non-citizens who wish to enter or remain in Australia must satisfy the requirements of the Migration Act and Regulations, including the character test – and this individual did not,” a spokesperson for the minister said.
“The Government is aware of the HRC's judgement and responded accordingly.”
The Human Rights Law Centre said they are unsure whether Nystrom knows the Australian government has rejected the UNHRC ruling.
“By washing its hands of any responsibility, Australia has consigned Stefan to experiencing all of these conditions,” the centre's Ms Ball said.
“It's no real surprise that he would be struggling to function in a society to which he has no meaningful connection.”
