Peaceful Assembly
Arrests and prison sentences follow violent riots in Örebro
Arrests continued following the violent riots in Örebro, which escalated over the Easter weekend in April 2022 in reaction to a Quran burning during a protest called by the far-right Danish-Swedish political extremist Rasmus Paludan. For instance, on 25th April 2022 the police arrested the chairman of a municipally funded youth sports project and banned him from the project’s activities due to his participation in the riots. During the months of May and June 2022, more people were detained by order of the prosecutor’s office and on the basis of gross sabotage against blue light operations. In consideration of these recent violent events, the extensive police investigation will lead to further arrests and strict punishment, said Emelie Bodegrim, head of the command in the Bergslagen police region.
As a consequence, some arrests ended up in court trials and four men in their 20s to 30s were sentenced to prison on 27th June 2022. On 8th July 2022, a second prison sentence of between two to six years was handed down by the court to four more men between the ages of 19 and 30. On another note, the Swedish prosecutor’s office found no evidence regarding police crimes that could be considered as misconduct during the riots. It therefore closed the investigation against police on 26th July 2022.
Police arrested and fined activist after climate demonstration
On 1st August 2022, a climate activist from Västernorrland received a SEK 2000 fine (around 190 EUR) by the district court in Sweden for participating in a demonstration earlier in June 2022 and blocking a road in Stockholm. However, climate activists have continued their strikes and will do so until their demands are met by the policymakers.