Sweden moves to deport Azerbaijani wrestling coach and his family

Sweden’s Migration Agency has decided to deport the family of Azerbaijani wrestling coach Shahid Bilalov, who moved to Sweden from Ukraine’s Kharkiv after the war began, Swedish newspaper Vimmerby Tidning reported.

Bilalov, his wife Saadat and their children, Ayshams and Turgut, live in the town of Mariannelund. The children, who are Ukrainian citizens, have been granted residence permits. However, the parents — Azerbaijani citizens who moved from Azerbaijan to Ukraine in the 1990s — were denied residency.

The Swedish Migration Agency said the decision was based on the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, which primarily applies to Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war.

Under the ruling, Shahid and Saadat Bilalov must return to Azerbaijan or leave for another country if they can prove it is willing to accept them. The family has no property in Azerbaijan and does not want to return to Kharkiv.

In Mariannelund, Bilalov works at a window manufacturing plant and had hoped to open a wrestling club. He previously coached in Azerbaijan and Ukraine, while his wife works at a kindergarten.

The family has appealed the deportation order, and the case will now be reviewed by a migration court. The Bilalovs say they hope to remain in Sweden.