Over 1,000 Iraqi refugees have gone into hiding in the Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö regions this year alone, according to Sveriges Radio’s Kaliber program.

Much of the large increase in Iraqi refugees going into hiding has occurred following a decision by the Migration Court of Appeal in 2007.

The court ruled that the the situation in Iraq does not constitute civil war according to the definition in the Swedish Aliens’ Act. All asylum seekers from Iraq must now demonstrate that they are personally at risk of persecution in order to gain the right to remain in Sweden.