Last week, Samnytt revealed that the repeatedly convicted Maksoud Abdulrahman had been hired to care for the elderly in Överkalix – without the municipality checking his criminal record. He is now no longer working for the municipality. At the same time, new information has emerged showing that politicians had already decided, before the revelation, that criminal background checks should be performed, but the decision had not been implemented in practice.
Maksoud Abdulrahman became nationally known in 2015, when SVT journalist Fredrik Önnevall helped him travel from Syria to Sweden during the filming of the series ‘Fosterland.’ Önnevall was later convicted of human smuggling.
Since then, Abdulrahman has been involved in several criminal cases in Sweden. Despite this, Samnytt recently revealed that he had been employed within elderly care in Överkalix.
He was employed on an intermittent basis as a care assistant at the Brännagården nursing home. When Samnytt interviewed the unit manager last week and had Abdulrahman’s employment documents in front of them, he was still employed by the municipality.
No criminal record check had been carried out.
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No Longer Employed
Now, as Samnytt follows up, the answer is different. Cenneth Pettersson (S), chair of the Social Care Committee and thus one of the politicians responsible for elderly care in the municipality, confirms that Abdulrahman is no longer working for the municipality.
When I spoke to the unit manager last week, I had his employment contract in front of me. But now he’s no longer working with you?
– I’m saying that he’s not working now.
Pettersson does not go into details about what happened to the employment, or whether Samnytt’s revelation played a part in Abdulrahman’s departure.
Politically, it was decided that we should request background checks. But then it has to be put into practice. That seems to have fallen behind a little, possibly due to the holiday period.
Cenneth Pettersson (S), chair of the Social Care Committee, Överkalix
The timing is clear, however – when Samnytt investigated last week, his employment was still active. After publication, it no longer is.
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Decision on Criminal Record Check Had Already Been Made
Samnytt’s initial investigation also revealed that Överkalix municipality was not checking criminal records when hiring staff in elderly care.
The unit manager at Brännagården, Linda Sandelid, told Samnytt that such extracts would not be requested. But according to Cenneth Pettersson, this does not align with the political direction already set by the municipality.
Is this something that, as a politician, you think should be reconsidered after this incident – to check the criminal record before someone works in elderly care?
– Yes, we’ve already decided that. We’re supposed to request them.
According to Pettersson, the decision was made around June 1.
– Politically, it was decided that we should request background checks. But then it has to be put into practice. That seems to have fallen behind a little, possibly due to the holiday period.
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This means, says Pettersson, that there was already a political decision on record checks when Abdulrahman worked at Brännagården – even though the responsible unit manager told Samnytt that no such checks would be carried out.
“She Should Have Received It Now After the Press Coverage”
When asked whether the unit manager will now receive instructions that criminal record checks must in fact be conducted, Pettersson replies:
– Yes, she should get that from the social director, and she should have received it after all the coverage now. That’s what I think.
Exactly what lies behind Abdulrahman no longer working for the municipality, Pettersson does not want to say.
What is clear, however, is that he still had an employment contract when Samnytt started asking questions last week.
After Samnytt’s publication, he is gone from the workplace – and at the same time, the municipality now says that a previous political decision on checking criminal records will be put into practice.