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CRIME

‘No foul play’ in teen girl’s hanging death

The 17-year-old girl who was found hanged in a tree in in southern Stockholm last Thursday was most likely not the victim of a crime, medical examiners concluded on Monday.

Published: 4 June 2012 18:17 CEST
'No foul play' in teen girl's hanging death

The girl, who was found dead on Thursday morning in a wooded area in Skärholmen, has been identified by Swedish media as Jassitha.

Initially, police suspected suicide, however new information has led investigators to suspect a murder which may have been set up to look like a suicide.

But following the completion of an autopsy on Monday, police are now returning to their original theory about the girl’s death.

“It shows that the death was probably not caused by a crime,” police spokesperson Hesam Akbari told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

Jassitha’s friends and family have spoken out about the death of the 17-year-old, who was found hanged in the woods near her home and had been missing for several days prior to the discovery.

“She was such a beautiful girl, she would never take her own life, she was so strong,” said Jassitha’s father to the Aftonbladet newspaper.

“She was my little girl, and the police must find out who has done this.”

He told Expressen that Jassitha was an accomplished student who dreamed of becoming a doctor.

Meanwhile, police continue to search for clues in the area where the girl was discovered, as well as interviewing friends and family of the girl.

The deceased girl’s boyfriend has revealed that a text message he received from Jassitha before her death said “See you in the next life,” wrote the paper.

The boyfriend also insisted that she would never have committed suicide.

One year ago, a relative of the girl was formally charged for several cases of aggravated assault and violation of integrity against the 17-year-old.

The relative was arrested and detained, yet despite the fact that the girl had given witness statements to police documenting her injuries, she retracted her statement in the court’s official hearing.

The relative was still convicted after having confessed to the crimes during the investigation and several witnesses had confirmed the story.

“We recognize the conviction, and have spoken with the relative after the girl’s death,” Ville Paloheimo of the Söderort police told the paper.

Despite the medical examiner’s findings, police continue to investigate Jassitha’s death.

“We haven’t dropped the case as there are a few measures we need to complete before we can change directions or close the case,” Akbari told SvD.

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CRIME

EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

Several masked men, described by anti-racism magazine Expo as "a group of Nazis" carried out the attack at an event organised by the Left Party and Green Party. Here's what we know so far.

Published: 25 April 2024 09:35 CEST
Updated: 25 April 2024 12:16 CEST
EXPLAINED: What we know about the attack on a Swedish anti-fascist meeting

What happened?

Several masked men burst into a Stockholm theatre on Wednesday night and set off smoke bombs during an anti-fascism event, according to police and participants.

Around 50 people were taking part in the event at the Moment theatre in Gubbängen, a southern suburb of the Swedish capital, organised by the Left Party and the Green Party.

“Three people were taken by ambulance to hospital,” the police said on its website, shortly after the attack.

According to Swedish media, one person was physically assaulted and two had paint sprayed in their faces.

“The Nazis attacked visitors using physical violence, with pepper spray, and vandalised the venue before throwing in some kind of smoke grenade which filled the foyer with smoke,” Expo wrote on its website. 

The magazine’s head of education Klara Ljungberg was at the event in order to hold a lecture at the invitation of the two political parties.

What was the meeting about?

According to the Left Party’s press officer, the event was “a meeting about growing fascism”. 

Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar described the event to public broadcaster SVT as an “open event, for equality among individuals”.

As well as Ljungberg from Expo, panelists at the event included anti-fascist activist Mathias Wåg, who also writes for Swedish centre-left tabloid Aftonbladet.

“They were determined and went straight for me,” Wåg told Expo just after the attack. “I received a few blows but nothing that caused serious damage.”

“I was invited to be on a panel in order to discuss anti-fascism with representatives from the Left Party and the Green Party,” he told the magazine. “I didn’t know this was going to happen, but there’s obviously a risk when Expo and I are in the same place.”

What has the reaction been like?

All of Sweden’s parties across the political spectrum have denounced the attack, with Dadgostar describing it as a “threat to our democracy” when TT newswire interviewed her at the theatre a few hours after the attack occurred.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, from the conservative Moderates, called the attack “abhorrent”.

The Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals are currently in government with the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, while the Social Democrats, Left Party, Centre Party and Green Party are in opposition.

“It is appalling news that a meeting hosted by the Left Party has been stormed,” Kristersson told TT. “I have reached out to Nooshi Dadgostar and expressed my deepest support. This type of abhorrent action has no place in our free and open society.”

“Right-wing extremists want to scare us into silence,” Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson wrote on X. “They will never be allowed to succeed.”

“The attack by right-wing extremists at a political meeting is a direct attack on our democracy and freedom of speech,” Green Party co-leader Daniel Helldén wrote on X. “My thoughts are with those who were affected this evening.”

Sweden Democrat party leader Jimmie Åkesson wrote in an email to TT that “political violence is terrible, in all its forms, and does not belong in Sweden.”

“All democratic forces must stand in complete solidarity against all kinds of politically motivated violence,” he continued.

His party has previously admitted to being founded by people from “fascist movement” New Swedish Movement, skinheads, and people with “various types of neo-Nazi contact”.

“It is an attack not only on the Left Party, Green Party and the Expo Foundation, but also on our entire democratic society,” Centre Party leader Muharrem Demirok, who referred to the attackers as “Nazis”, wrote on social media. “Those affected have all my support.”

Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch and Liberal leader Johan Pehrson both referred to the attackers as “anti-democratic forces”.

“It is never acceptable for a political meeting to be stormed by anti-democratic forces,” Busch wrote. “There is no place for this in our society.”

“Anti-democratic forces like this represent a serious threat to our democracy and must be met with society’s hardest iron fist,” Pehrson said.

What about the attackers? Has anyone been arrested?

Not yet. The police had not made any arrests at the time of writing on Thursday morning.

According to TT, police did not want to comment on who could be behind the attack.

It is currently being investigated as a violation of the Flammable and Explosive Goods Act, assault, causing danger to others and disturbing public order.

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