A Swedish woman whose protest on board a plane stopped the deportation of a 52-year-old man back to war-torn Afghanistan has thanked the passengers and public for the overwhelming support.
After learning another passenger on board her Monday Gothenburg to Istanbul flight would ultimately be transferred to another plane and sent to Afghanistan, Elin Ersson stood up and refused to get back in her seat as the aircraft sat on the tarmac.
More than two million people have since watched the video and Ms Ersson spoke to The Guardian about the frustration from other passengers on board the plane.
“I was so caught in the moment that I didn’t really realise that everyone was looking at me,” she told the publication.
“My focus was all on stopping a deportation to Afghanistan."
Despite the frustration from some passengers, Mr Ersson did receive support from a Turkish man and a football team at the back of the plane.
“It felt good when the Turkish guy started talking to me and making sure that I knew I wasn’t alone,” she said.
At the time, Ms Ersson thought she was preventing a younger Afghan man from being deported. But it was, in fact, an Afgan man in his 50s that she was defending.
Knowing the pilot would be unable to take off with a passenger out of their seat, Ms Ersson pulled out her phone and started live streaming to Facebook as she demanded the man be taken off the plane.
“There is a person getting deported to Afghanistan and the people working here are trying to take my phone,” she says in English, during the 14-minute video.
"If he is deported to Afghanistan, he probably dies.
“He will most likely get killed… I’m doing what I can do to save a person’s life.”
At least one other passenger can be heard yelling “sit down, we want to go” as the young Swede continues filming, occasionally telling people off camera to let go of her phone.
But other passengers side with Ms Ersson, including one man who translates her comments into Turkish for several other people, prompting a round of applause.
