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NEO-NAZI

‘They attacked us’ says alleged Swedish neo-Nazi

The suspected neo-Nazi leader allegedly at the helm of the violent altercation in Stockholm last year told court on Tuesday that anti-racism demonstrators attacked them, not the other way around.

'They attacked us' says alleged Swedish neo-Nazi
Scenes from the altercation in December. File photo: TT

"My perception was that the demo in Kärrtrop was against the Swedish Resistance Movement," the 24-year-old said about the neighbourhood protest against a recent flurry of Nazi graffiti in the southern Stockholm neighborhood.

"So I thought it was obvious that we'd go," the man told the Södertörn District Court.

Seven men, some minors, are standing trial for their suspected roles in a violent altercation in the Kärrtorp neighbourhood in mid-December. Three are described as key figures in the Swedish Resistance Movement (Svenska motståndsrörelsen).

"I didn't use violence against anyone, the only thing I did was to hold a camera," said the man, one of three suspects identified as leaders of the group. 

He said several people dressed in black had instead attacked them. The demo then descended into mayhem, with the understaffed Swedish police and several local residents herding the neo-Nazis out of the suburb and into a nearby forest.

Prosecutors have brought charges of violent rioting (våldsamt upplopp) and hate speech (hets mot folkgrupp) against four suspects. Another three were charged with instigating violent rioting. The indictment stated that several of those charged threw bottles, rocks, and firecrackers at the peaceful demonstrators, several of whom attended the rally with their children. 

IN PICTURES: Swedish police herd neo-Nazis away from anti-racism demonstrators in Kärrtorp 

"I'd also like to underscore that I am not some kind of group leader, which the prosecutor claims," he added.

The prosecutor retorted by asking him about an alleged SMS sent to SMR members on December 15th, 2013, and further text messages sent allegedly to assemble the group.

READ ALSO: "It's a kind of poverty of the soul… Swedes tell The Local why they are protesting against racism"

The TT news agency reported that while the older suspects have remained tight-lipped about what happened in Kärrtorp, a 17-year-old suspect told the police he was shocked at how violent the altercation became. A 16-year-old said he received orders from two of the older suspects to take bottles out of a car.  

"I wanted to turn back," he told police during interrogations. "I suppose I realized when they got the bottles out that this wasn't what I'd signed up for." 

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NEO-NAZI

Spain probes anti-Semitic speech at ‘horrific’ neo-Nazi rally

Prosecutors in Madrid on Tuesday said they had opened an investigation into anti-Semitic comments made at a neo-Nazi rally held at the weekend which drew ire from Spain's Jewish community.

Spain probes anti-Semitic speech at 'horrific' neo-Nazi rally
File photo of a man making a fascist salute in Madrid. Photo: AFP

The incident took place Saturday when around 300 people gathered at La Almudena cemetery, with footage on social media showing several people in the crowd repeatedly giving the Nazi salute.

The rally, which was also attended by a Catholic priest, was a commemoration of the so-called “Blue Division”, a unit of Spanish military volunteers that fought for the Nazis during World War II.

At the cemetery, they laid flowers in front of the memorial to the fallen Blue Division soldiers.

During the rally, a young woman gave an inflammatory speech echoing rhetoric from the 1930s.   

The region's prosecutors confirmed they had opened “criminal investigation to gather information about the anti-Semitic statements” which could constitute an offence relating to the exercise of fundamental rights and public freedoms, according to a statement received by AFP.    

“It is unacceptable that such serious anti-Semitic manifestations go unpunished,” said Isaac Benzaquen, head of the Spanish Federation of Jewish Communities, indicating that a complaint had been filed.

Israel's ambassador to Spain, Rodica Radian-Gordon, also tweeted her condemnation, saying the statements were “repugnant and have no place in a democratic society”.

And the American Jewish Committee (AJC) described the rally as “horrific”, calling on the Spanish government on Twitter “to censure these groups endangering democracy”.

At least 200,000 Spanish Jews were forced into exile by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492. Known as Sephardim — the Hebrew term for Jews of Spanish origin — many fled to the Ottoman Empire or North Africa and later to Latin America.   

Today the Jewish community in Spain numbers around 40,000 people, community sources say.

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