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CRIME

Murder trial begins for dismemberment suspect

The murder trial against a 22-year-old suspected of dismembering his ex-girlfriend began on Thursday in Piteå, northern Sweden. The man took part in the massive search and rescue operation launched after her disappearance.

Published: 31 October 2013 10:29 CET
Murder trial begins for dismemberment suspect

The suspect has pleaded not guilty. The blood of 20-year-old Vatchareeya Bangsuan was discovered in the boot of his car. A pair of work gloves and a roll of tape tainted with the victim’s blood were also found in his home.

Bangsuan disappeared in Boden on May 7th, 2013 sparking a drawn-out search by rescue services and volunteers – including the suspect – until her dismembered remains were discovered on May 20th in a building on an abandoned military base. The 22-year-old man on trial for her murder was a friend, with whom she also had a short relationship several years back.

Technicians have been able to determine that Bangsuan attempted to call 112 (the European and Swedish emergency services number), but was unsuccessful. She pressed asterisk instead of the call button and her call for help never made it through.

The high-profile hunt for her and the details of her death have drawn attention to the case, with the court house in Piteå swarmed by reporters and onlookers alike on Thursday morning.

"There's a lot of pressure on him today, but at the same time it's a huge relief that his long time in jail is nearing an end," Bo Forssberg, the suspect's attorney, told the news agency TT.

Investigators have yet to find the crime scene or any sort of murder weapon, and the complicated case will be assessed by two judges as well as a jury. Generally only one judge is present, but the investigation is the largest ever in the Swedish Norrbotten County.

"The only think I can say is that I have no idea how it got to this," the suspect said during his pretrial hearing.

Male DNA from the woman’s ankles has been analyzed, but the results were uncertain. The DNA could belong to the 22-year-old man, but forensic technicians could not say for sure.

The murder suspect participated in the search for the woman, along with volunteers from the organization Missing People. He admitted that he had been to the abandoned building where the woman’s body parts were later found, although he claimed he did not see anything there. Bangsuan was studying in his apartment before she disappeared.

TT/The Local/sr

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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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