Swedish politician suspected of war crimes
A local Swedish politician has been arrested in Denmark on war crimes suspicions stemming from a fatal shooting at a Balkan border control in 1991.
The 42-year-old man, a resident of Skåne in southern Sweden, was arrested at Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport on Wednesday on his way home from a vacation in Egypt, the Sydvenskan newspaper reports.
Slovenian authorities issued an international warrant for the man in 2007 on suspicions that he shot and killed someone at a Slovenian border crossing in 1991.
The incident is alleged to have occurred when soldiers opened fire on a car when it failed to heed their instructions to stop at a Slovenian border crossing. A passenger in the backseat was killed.
The man’s lawyer, however, disputes the accusations against his client.
“My client wasn’t one of the people who shot. He is totally innocent,” attorney Thorkild Høyer told the newspaper.
Hoyer also questioned the decision to classify the crime as a war crime.
According to Expressen newspaper, the man is a local Left Party politician and also works as a teacher. He is now being held in Copenhagen pending an extradition hearing to Slovenia.
The 42-year-old has appealed the extradition request and has instead asked to be allowed to return to his family in Sweden pending the outcome of the investigation.
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The 42-year-old man, a resident of Skåne in southern Sweden, was arrested at Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport on Wednesday on his way home from a vacation in Egypt, the Sydvenskan newspaper reports.
Slovenian authorities issued an international warrant for the man in 2007 on suspicions that he shot and killed someone at a Slovenian border crossing in 1991.
The incident is alleged to have occurred when soldiers opened fire on a car when it failed to heed their instructions to stop at a Slovenian border crossing. A passenger in the backseat was killed.
The man’s lawyer, however, disputes the accusations against his client.
“My client wasn’t one of the people who shot. He is totally innocent,” attorney Thorkild Høyer told the newspaper.
Hoyer also questioned the decision to classify the crime as a war crime.
According to Expressen newspaper, the man is a local Left Party politician and also works as a teacher. He is now being held in Copenhagen pending an extradition hearing to Slovenia.
The 42-year-old has appealed the extradition request and has instead asked to be allowed to return to his family in Sweden pending the outcome of the investigation.
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