Sweden jails Nazis for 'obvious' instigation
A Swedish court on Wednesday jailed the Stockholm head of the Swedish Resistance Movement (SMR) and said that the neo-Nazis present at the Stockholm demo gone awry were "obviously" the ones to attack.
"It has been obvious to the district court that (this) group of people were the first to attack the demonstrators," wrote court chairwoman Claudia Vadaszi in a statement. "As soon as they arrived on the square they started running and throwing bottles."
The verdict also underscored that the men were armed with shields and bludgeons.
The man deemed the regional leader for Stockholm in the neo-Nazi movement was jailed for eight months after being found guilty of instigating a riot (våldsamt upplopp). Two 24-year-old men, also considered ring leaders in the attack, were sentenced to six months in prison for rioting, while one was also sentenced for weapons crimes.
Three teenagers that took part in the violent melée were sentenced to community service (ungdomstjänst), with a fourth sentenced to juvenile care (ungdomsvård), when social services become involved to help a young person get back on track.
The defendants had claimed in court that they were simply staging a counter demo, as the neighbourhood protesters they became embroiled with were protesting the sprouting of Nazi graffiti in the south Stockholm suburbs.
The police are also looking at potential crimes committed by young people tied to anti-fascist groups, of whom a 25-year-old is being sought for attempted manslaughter - although acquaintances of the young main said he had pulled a stick from the hands of one of the SMR members and defended himself. The prosecutor said the young man had hit the other person on the nose hard enough to have been potentially life-threatening.
In the official papers issued for his arrest, the district court said the 25-year-old was suspected "at least" of aggravated assault.
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"It has been obvious to the district court that (this) group of people were the first to attack the demonstrators," wrote court chairwoman Claudia Vadaszi in a statement. "As soon as they arrived on the square they started running and throwing bottles."
The verdict also underscored that the men were armed with shields and bludgeons.
The man deemed the regional leader for Stockholm in the neo-Nazi movement was jailed for eight months after being found guilty of instigating a riot (våldsamt upplopp). Two 24-year-old men, also considered ring leaders in the attack, were sentenced to six months in prison for rioting, while one was also sentenced for weapons crimes.
Three teenagers that took part in the violent melée were sentenced to community service (ungdomstjänst), with a fourth sentenced to juvenile care (ungdomsvård), when social services become involved to help a young person get back on track.
The defendants had claimed in court that they were simply staging a counter demo, as the neighbourhood protesters they became embroiled with were protesting the sprouting of Nazi graffiti in the south Stockholm suburbs.
The police are also looking at potential crimes committed by young people tied to anti-fascist groups, of whom a 25-year-old is being sought for attempted manslaughter - although acquaintances of the young main said he had pulled a stick from the hands of one of the SMR members and defended himself. The prosecutor said the young man had hit the other person on the nose hard enough to have been potentially life-threatening.
In the official papers issued for his arrest, the district court said the 25-year-old was suspected "at least" of aggravated assault.
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