Do you think he's 15.

I am interested in other people's answers as I am convinced that the refugee in Burnley who carried the Olympic torch was at least seven years older than he claims. He is thankfully doing well here . The refugees know that they get priority as a lone child and know that they must lie about their age.

This picture is in the DM. He's 20 if he's a day.

Can't find it.

Ana. Don't know what your looking at but it's the Leed story on my tablet.

I've looked at all the DM reports about the case - can't see any photos of the accused.

Put Youssaf Khalif in your search engine. I did, and his picture came up.

I have done (although google corrected the spelling to 'Youssef'), There seem to be many men with that name, so I'm none the wiser.

Can't you post a link?

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3421150/First-picture-Six-foot-tall-15-year-old-Somali-boy-killer-Swedish-asylum-worker-appears-court-charged-murder.html

I don't think you can tell from that photo.

If there's any doubt about his age, x-rays can confirm it. Somalians are naturally tall, so his height is not a good measure of his age. The prosecutor has stated his identity has not yet been confirmed, so he has been charged as a 15 year old until his date or birth and name are confirmed.

In case people are not aware, the woman was stabbed as she tried to break up a fight between the accused and another resident.

There is no definitive way of determining age. At the moment, when a young asylum seeker comes to this country and gives their age as under 18, the assessment of age is carried out by a social worker. It is very difficult and far from an exact science. Compassion and decency demand that some (many?) are given the benefit of the doubt. There have inevitably been mistakes made and never discovered. I can't comment on this particular young man, or the Olympic torch bearer, but from my experience it would not be unusual for the age assessment to be incorrect.

I agree, but in these circumstance where perhaps it might make the difference between being tried as an adult or a child it sounds like the authorities are making investigations.

Apparently a dental examination can be helpful when assessing the age of a young person.

The French evidently do a bone density test.

I must have been well over 6 feet by the time I was 15.

That picture from the DM is so bad its hard to make any real judgement.
Once you are looking at teenagers height is no indication of age.

My DD was getting asked for ID when buying alcohol when she was in her late 20s.

No way does that face belong to a fifteen year old.

I would say almost twice what he states.

Why is his head covered in the picture.

Well, he is in Gothenburgh. Bloody chilly this time of the year.

Even giving him the benefit of the doubt (my DS could have grown a full beard at 15) I would say he is at least 25 !

I agree with jings his face is not the face of a 15 year old !

There's an established set of simple X-rays that give pretty accurate estimates of age. If there's a problem verifying his identity and therefore his age, no doubt the authorities will carry out tests.

I think Sweden has traditionally carried out less rigorous age assessments than some other countries in Europe, but perhaps this case will lead to changes. Medical (or dental) screening is treated with caution everywhere and case law has generally accepted that the margin of error is too high for it to be relied upon without other supporting evidence.

The following is taken from UK government guidance on screening unaccompanied asylum seeking children:

The Royal College of Paediatricians, in their guidance on age assessment, have said that in practice, age determination is extremely difficult to do with certainty because it is an inexact science where the margin of error can sometimes be as much as 5 years either side. ‘The health of refugee children: guidelines for paediatricians’, Royal College of Paediatrics, chapter 5.6, November 1999).

Frankly if someone has been granted asylum, then I would not subject them to tests as a matter of course.

If his age is in doubt and it can't verified through normal means, I think it is reasonable in this case for further tests because a serious crime has been committed. Any tests can only give an indication of his age and at this stage we don't know if his age will be relevant to any charges brought against him.

I heard on the radio that 'under age' asylum seekers/refugees in Sweden are entitled to enhanced benefits including the right to bring over the rest of their families and this is why so many '15 & 16 year olds' appear to be much older.