Police withdraw backup sent to stem Gotland unrest
Sweden's police have recalled back-up sent to Gotland last week to quell unrest sparked by an alleged gang rape.
The extra bodies from the Swedish mainland arrived on the island last Friday after threats against the police and prosecutors were reported and a demonstration took place.
Two people are now being investigated for unlawful conduct towards public officials and trespassing. Sweden’s national police said that calm had been restored to the island however and the extra officers were gradually leaving as of Monday.
The situation on Gotland first took a turn for the worse last week when five men suspected of raping a woman in the medieval town of Visby were released because the prosecutor judged there was not enough evidence to have them remanded in custody.
All five men denied the accusations, with one saying he had consensual sex with the woman, and a criminal investigation is still ongoing.
Forensic samples taken from the site of the incident are now being analyzed at Sweden’s National Forensic Centre (NFC), and it is hoped that the results will establish more details, newspaper Hela Gotland reports.
"What the results show could change the situation," the woman's lawyer Staffan Fredriksson told the newspaper.
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The extra bodies from the Swedish mainland arrived on the island last Friday after threats against the police and prosecutors were reported and a demonstration took place.
Two people are now being investigated for unlawful conduct towards public officials and trespassing. Sweden’s national police said that calm had been restored to the island however and the extra officers were gradually leaving as of Monday.
The situation on Gotland first took a turn for the worse last week when five men suspected of raping a woman in the medieval town of Visby were released because the prosecutor judged there was not enough evidence to have them remanded in custody.
All five men denied the accusations, with one saying he had consensual sex with the woman, and a criminal investigation is still ongoing.
Forensic samples taken from the site of the incident are now being analyzed at Sweden’s National Forensic Centre (NFC), and it is hoped that the results will establish more details, newspaper Hela Gotland reports.
"What the results show could change the situation," the woman's lawyer Staffan Fredriksson told the newspaper.
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