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Nine from Sweden arrested for murder in Spain

Nine people were arrested in Malmö, Sweden, and Málaga, Spain, this week as a result of a collaboration between Swedish and Spanish police.

Published: 30 November 2018 16:23 CET

Nine from Sweden arrested for murder in Spain

The arrests were made as part of 'Operation Rueda'. Photo: Cuerpo Nacional de Policía

The arrestees are suspected of being part of a criminal network believed to be behind two murders in southern Spain. All nine are from Sweden.

Three of the arrests were made in Málaga while the other six individuals were arrested in Malmö. The arrests came in a series of coordinated police actions at the beginning of the week as part of what Spanish police have dubbed ‘Operation Rueda’.

According to the Spanish National Police Corps, the three detainees – seven men and two women – have links to a criminal organization suspected of carrying out two murders in the Andalusian cities of Estepona and Marbella.

“These are people who are part of the criminal environment in Malmö and they are very well-known to us,” Petra Stenkula, the head of investigations in Sweden’s South police region, told Swedish news agency TT. “There are people who have previously been detained and suspected of murder, assassination, and other types of crime. There isn’t a single one of them who hasn’t been previously detained.”

The victims of the Andalusian murders were a 36-year-old man who was killed in May outside a church in Marbella and a 28-year-old man who was found dead in his Estepona residence in October. The 36-year-old victim is believed to have been involved in organized crime and drug trafficking in the area.

“These are brutal acts,” Stenkula said.

According to Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan, the six people arrested in Malmö are five men between the ages of 24 and 32 and a 64-year-old woman. Spain has requested the extradition of these six individuals. The three people arrested in Spain normally reside in Sweden, police said.

Stenkula said that one of the men arrested in Málaga asked police if he was being detained for a murder in Spain or Sweden, and at least one of the detainees is suspected of other unspecified crimes in Sweden.

Those who agree to be extradited will be taken to Spain for trial. If they resist the extradition request, their cases will be handled by a Swedish court.

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Sweden's Eurovision contest to open in shadow of Gaza war

Looming over the festivities is Israel’s participation in the almost 70-year-old contest, which this year brings together 37 countries, concluding with the final on May 11.

Malmö resident Anders Puschel told AFP that he will be taking part in a demonstration on May 9, the same day Israel will be competing in the second semi-final.

“During the ongoing war, Israel’s participation should be banned in the same way they banned Russia,” Puschel said.

In 2022, Russian broadcasters were excluded from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) — which oversees the competition — in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

READ ALSO: How safe will it be to visit Malmö during Eurovision?

“The message was, we don’t like people who are not living up to democratic standards,” anthropologist and Eurovision specialist Lisanne Wilken said.

Since the beginning of the year, several petitions have demanded Israel’s exclusion.

Direct threats have also been made against the singer representing Israel, Eden Golan, which the EBU swiftly condemned.

“While we strongly support freedom of speech and the right to express opinions in a democratic society, we firmly oppose any form of online abuse, hate speech, or harassment directed at our artists or any individuals associated with the contest,” the organisation said.

Inside the Malmö Arena, the organiser has banned all flags other than those of the participating countries — with the exception of the Pride rainbow flag — a long-standing rule, according to the EBU.

“I’m sure someone will be able to smuggle in a Palestinian flag and wave it, but whether it will been seen on TV is more uncertain,” Puschel said.

Pro-Palestinian rallies

Thousands are expected to attend pro-Palestinian rallies throughout the week in the city, which is decorated with multicoloured flags.

“I would never have thought we would become such a political event on the world stage,” said Karin Karlsson, managing director of the Eurovision event for the city of Malmö.

With just over 360,000 inhabitants — and 186 nationalities — “the whole world lives in Malmö and all the conflicts come together in a very small area, which creates friction,” Andreas Onnerfors, professor of the history of ideas and a Eurovision specialist, told AFP.

The majority of Sweden’s population of Palestinian origin also lives in the port city, which is the Scandinavian country’s third largest and is preparing to welcome some 100,000 visitors.

READ ALSO: Inside Sweden: Will Eurovision bring party cheer to Malmö or is it too late?

Security is a major concern, especially as Sweden raised its terror alert level last year following a series of protests involving desecrations of the Koran.

Security checks have been stepped up, in particular for access to the various sites, where bags will mostly be prohibited.

Police presence has also been strengthened, with reinforcements coming from Norway and Denmark, and officers will be more heavily armed than normal during the week.

“Everything feels very safe,” said Ebba Adielsson, executive producer of the event for Swedish public broadcaster SVT, who is organising the event together with the EBU.

“Police are very, very active and have dedicated a lot of resources” to securing the event, Adielsson continued.

Demonstrations will be tightly controlled and, as a precaution, jail cells have been emptied and detainees sent elsewhere in Sweden to make room in case of a surge in arrests.

“Eurovision, you can see it around town and there is a lot of talk. Unfortunately the focus has ended up on other things than the actual music competition and the joy,” ABBA fan Anders Persson lamented.

This year’s competition marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic Swedish pop group’s international breakthrough when they won Eurovision with the song “Waterloo”.

In a sign of the controversy surrounding the competition, several Swedish artists who were due to take part in the festivities surrounding the event have withdrawn.

A more sombre affair

The festivities will still go ahead, though in a calmer manner.

“Malmö is a party city… the saddest thing is that there may be fewer Malmö residents taking part,” Karlsson said.

READ ALSO: Stockholm nightlife: Seven cheap pubs and dive bars

The EBU has adopted the slogan “United by Music,” borrowed from the 2023 edition, which was organised in the UK as the war-stricken 2022 winner Ukraine was unable to host it.

“Liverpool last year was a huge party, this was a celebration thrown in Putin’s face,” Wilken said, referring to the Russian president who invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“This year it really is more difficult for Sweden to position itself,” she continued, explaining that the event has been “marked” by the situation in Gaza.

Another local man, Yair Elsner, is also organising a rally on May 9, but to celebrate the Israeli participation.

“We will be there with Swedish flags and Israeli flags,” he told AFP, adding they aim to show “something positive.”

A member of Malmö’s small Jewish community, Elsner said he had not noticed any change in attitudes towards him since the start of the war, but conceded there was a widespread feeling of “insecurity”.

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