It’s the case that has horrified a nation: a seven months-pregnant woman said to have been murdered by her Somalian boyfriend because his mother disapproved of him dating a white woman.
Saga Forsgren Elneborg, 20, was found strangled to death at home in the city of Örebro – in what prosecutors claim was an ‘honour’ killing because he was ashamed of having a baby with a non-Muslim.
Now has traced Ibrahim’s mother and she has broken her silence to discuss the case for the first time – and deny her own anti-Swedish bigotry could explain what happened.
Istar Yusuf Nuh, 42, instead insists she would have warmly received Saga into her family as well as the unborn baby son she was carrying when she was killed.
The mother-of-three told us she did not have problems with her son dating a non-Muslim and that Saga’s death had robbed her of a grandson she would have loved.
Saga Forsgren Elneborg (pictured) was found strangled to death at home in the city of Örebro – in what prosecutors claim was an ‘honour’ killing because Ibrahim was ashamed of having a baby with a non-Muslim
Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim is accused of strangling Saga to death. has traced Ibrahim’s mother and she has broken her silence to discuss the case for the first time – and deny her own anti-Swedish bigotry could explain what happened
Heartbreaking photos show how Saga had prepared to become a mother, excitedly sharing snaps and milestones with her friends and family
She admitted her son had never brought Saga home and that she was unaware until after she died that she had been in a relationship with her son and was seven months pregnant by him.
She told us: ‘I would have been happy if Amin had met a girl and for me it wouldn’t matter if she was Swedish or not.
‘I would have been happy if he showed me the girl. If Amin had come home and told me that he had got a girl pregnant, I would have been happy to become a grandmother, and especially a young grandmother.
‘Even if the pregnancy was out of wedlock, it wouldn’t matter as long as it was my son’s child.’
Asked if she knew whether Ibrahim or his younger brother had relationships with girls, she said: ‘No, I don’t know anything about that.’
Prosecutors claim Ibrahaim grew up in a household that believed a relationship with a ‘white’ woman was ‘not OK’ and that he ‘must date a woman of the same culture’ – and concealed the two-year relationship from his mother because she would not accept it.
But Mrs Nuh, 42, said her son, who is known as Amin, would have had her permission to have relationships with women.
Örebro in Sweden. State prosecutor Elisabeth Anderson alleges that Ibrahim then went to Saga’s flat, where he ‘violently’ strangled her to death with the cable of her bedside lamp, according to local outlet Aftonbladet
Sada heavily pregnant. Mrs Nuh admitted her son had never brought Saga home and that she was unaware until after she died that she had been in a relationship with her son and was seven months pregnant by him
She said: ‘Sure, why not. He can have that . . . for me it is no problem. I myself was in my teens when I had my son.’
She said she had told police that her sister’s daughter was married to a man from Switzerland – and that similarly to this accepting Saga into the family fold would not have been ‘strange’.
She said she and Amin’s father would not have rejected Saga for ‘cultural reasons’ and he would not have had any cause to be afraid or worried in front of her or her husband Abdirisek Ibrahim Noor.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Anderson told Mrs Nuh or her family were not suspects in the case which is set to begin on Wednesday and that Amin continued to protest his innocence.
‘I cannot make any statements until the case has finished on May 23rd.’ she said.
But the prosecution believes it has built up a considerable case which will prove Amin murder of his girlfriend was driven by shame.
Police will reveal that Amin went to great lengths to persuade Saga to abort the child and when she refused, he turned to searching the internet on how to ensure the baby was never born.
Detectives say they found various searches on his iphone on matters such as ‘fetuses and miscarriages.’
![Saga's mother told Swedish outlet Nerikes Allehanda: 'Saga was 20 years old and longed to be a mother to her boy who was waiting in her belly... In brutal and completely inhuman ways, someone [..] took your everything from you'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/04/06/15/83308403-13278759-image-a-54_1712412635643.jpg)
Saga’s mother told Swedish outlet Nerikes Allehanda: ‘Saga was 20 years old and longed to be a mother to her boy who was waiting in her belly… In brutal and completely inhuman ways, someone [..] took your everything from you’
Saga with Ibrahim. Prosecutors claim Ibrahaim grew up in a household that believed a relationship with a ‘white’ woman was ‘not OK’ and that he ‘must date a woman of the same culture’ – and concealed the two-year relationship from his mother because she would not accept it
They also allege he examined the web for how to deliver ‘a blow to the stomach and on a ‘fetus dead in the womb.’
There were also searches for ‘fetal death by impact and fetal death in the abdomen, cops claim.
Amin is also accused of carrying out a Google search with the question ‘Can fetuses die of violence and what can kill a fetus?’
Another police claim is that Amin examined the internet with the question on whether it was ‘halal to cut off your kid.’
But he told detectives this internet search was designed to establish whether it was acceptable in Islam for him not to have responsibility for his child.’
Police say Saga was murdered to protect the killer from any shame that might descend on his relations.
They disclosed one text he sent to Saga which read:’I live for my family. I’ve been enough trouble and almost caused a divorce between my parents and want to keep the peace at home.
‘But then at the same time don’t want to have to sneak around and not be able to go out, but I don’t know what to do I swear.’
Örebro, Sweden, where Saga was found strangled to death in her home. More than 2,000 Somalians live in Orebro, which is around two hours by road from Stockholm which has more than 8,000 people from Somalia residing there
Ibrahim’s mother, Istar Yusuf Nuh, has insisted she would have accepted Saga (pictured) into her family as well as the unborn baby son she was carrying when she was killed
In the indictment, prosecutor Elisabeth Anderson wrote: ‘Mohamedamin Abdirisek Ibrahim has killed Saga Forsgren Elneborg by suffocating and strangling her by means of pressure on her neck with an impact on the trachea and the blood supply to the head.’
She added in a press release: ‘I mean that the murder took place in an honor context because the man wanted to preserve or restore his and his family’s honor by killing the woman who was carrying his child.’
In text messages to Saga, Ibrahim told her he would tell his relatives about their relationship and baby on April 28, 2023 – the night of Saga’s murder.
He expressed feeling nervous about telling them and wrote: ‘Feels like I can almost feel my heartbeat all the way down to my stomach.’
Saga tried to reassure him and promised that ‘it will be fine’. In his last text to his girlfriend, Ibrahim claimed he told one person. Saga’s follow-up messages, asking him how it was going and for him to ‘talk to me’, remained unanswered.
State prosecutor Elisabeth Anderson alleges that Ibrahim then went to Saga’s flat, where he ‘violently’ strangled her to death with the cable of her bedside lamp, according to local outlet Aftonbladet.
Their baby boy, who weighed 1.7kg at the time and measured just 1.5ft from head to toe, also died inside Saga’s womb.
There is no evidence to suggest that Ibrahim’s family was either involved in Saga’s murder or that they asked for her to be killed, according to local media.
Further text messages between the Saga and her alleged killer revealed that Ibrahim tried to convince his girlfriend to have an abortion shortly after she got pregnant.
‘I know we can make it, but I won’t be able to keep my family. If it had been possible, there would have been no problem with keeping the child,’ he told her.
Swedish police have released pictures of the murder weapon and the crime scene in her bedroom, where Saga’s body
But Saga was excited about becoming a mother, telling him that she would have the baby, even without her boyfriend’s support, according to Anderson.
Heartbreaking photos show how Saga had prepared to become a mother, excitedly sharing snaps and milestones with her friends and family.
One selfie taken by Saga shows her pregnant standing next to a lovingly-made crib in her bedroom, ready for the arrival of her baby son Esaiah.
She also sent ultrasound pictures of her baby son to her loved ones, as well as a picture of her positive pregnancy test.
In another picture, Saga showed off tiny socks and trainers for her baby son in red, grey, white and black by sports brand Jordan.
A second selfie taken during her pregnancy shows Saga smiling into the camera as she lovingly touched her baby bump.
Saga’s mother told Swedish outlet Nerikes Allehanda: ‘She was so happy. She would move to a new apartment and start her life as a mother. This is the worst thing imaginable.’
‘Saga was 20 years old and longed to be a mother to her boy who was waiting in her belly… In brutal and completely inhuman ways, someone [..] took your everything from you, they took your life and the life of your little boy,’ one of Saga’s relatives wrote on Facebook.
Heartbreaking photos show how Saga had prepared to become a mother, excitedly sharing snaps and milestones with her friends and family
Despite her refusal to have the abortion he asked for, Ibrahim continued the relationship and planned for a future with Saga.
Anderson alleges that Ibrahim did not believe that his family would live ‘honourably’ if he had the baby with his girlfriend, but kept this from his girlfriend to not make her feel guilty and to not ‘make her take the baby away’.
The prosecutor also claims that Ibrahim’s DNA was found under Saga’s fingernails.
‘It has been and still is a difficult time for all [of] Saga’s relative,’ said Elisabeth Massi Fritz, who represents Saga’s family.
‘The murder of Saga is a cruel and ruthless murder with an honor motive. There are many aggravating circumstances in the deed which we will highlight during the trial,’ Massi Fritz told Aftonbladet.
Ibrahim is due to go on trial for the murder on April 10, nearly a year after his girlfriend Saga was killed.
He denies any wrongdoing and told police in an interrogation that he loved Saga and was still in disbelief over her death: ‘I have been in denial for nine months now.’
More than 2,000 Somalians live in Orebro, which is around two hours by road from Stockholm which has more than 8,000 people from Somalia residing there.
Mohammed Azzuladin, 39, who prays at Orebro Mosque which the murder suspect also attended, told Mail Online: ‘Nothing in our religion allows for the killing of another.
‘Let the courts decide whether this individual is guilty or not, but nobody at this Mosque will talk about this. This is time of Ramadan. We pray for peace for all.’
A Somalian man at Amin’s ground floor family flat, in a suburb of Orebro, who drove a black cab, refused to comment.