Summary Bildt said Kambaksh was pardoned after his escape and is now likely in the U.S.
STOCKHOLM: (AP) - Sweden s former foreign minister says he helped an Afghan student and journalist secretly flee the country in 2009, which saved the man from a death penalty.
Carl Bildt says Sayed Pervez Kambaksh was convicted for publishing critical texts about Islam. He was smuggled into a Swedish government plane at Kabul airport while Bildt waited on board.
In an interview with Swedish daily Expressen, Bildt said the operation was coordinated with Kai Eide, the U.N. s envoy to Afghanistan at the time.
Bildt said Kambaksh was pardoned after his escape and is now likely in the U.S.
He described the experience as "nerve-racking" for fear that Afghan security personnel would discover the plan.
Bildt tweeted Thursday that the operation was secret, but could now be revealed as all relevant leaders had changed.
