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Sweden arrests two women linked to Islamic State

Two women linked to the Islamic State group were arrested by Swedish police after they flew back from Syria.

Published: 7 September 2021 07:06 CEST

Sweden arrests two women linked to Islamic State

Three women and their six children landed at Arlanda Airport in Sweden on Monday after they were deported from Syria. Photo: Fredrik Persson/TT

Stockholm police spokesman Ola Österling said the prosecutor leading the investigation into the two women had ordered their arrest.

“We executed that decision when the plane arrived in Stockholm in the afternoon,” Österling told AFP. A third woman had been taken in for questioning, he added.

A statement from the Prosecution Authority Monday said multiple investigations were under way against men and women returning from areas that had been controlled by the Islamic State group (Isis or IS).

“The international crimes that are relevant for people for people returning from Isis-controlled areas are war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity,” public prosecutor Reena Devgun said in the statement.

“Sweden has an international committment to investigate and prosecute these crimes,” she added.

The Prosecution Authority added that it could not comment on individual cases or the number of investigations under way.

But public broadcaster SVT reported that at least one of the women arrested was being investigated for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

SVT also reported that the women who had returned Monday had been staying in camps in northern Syria but had been deported by Kurdish authorities after deciding they did not have enough evidence to prosecute them.

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Where are the new 'specially vulnerable areas' in Sweden's cities?

Four new districts have joined the Sweden’s National Police’s list of “specially vulnerable areas”, “risk areas” and “vulnerable areas”, six have left the list entirely, three have been downgraded from the “specially vulnerable” category and one has joined it.

In total, Sweden has 59 districts classed as troubled in some way, which is two fewer than in 2021, the last time the list was updated.

“The clearest trend that we see happening is a stagnation,” the police wrote in its biannual update on the areas.

“The number of areas judged to be vulnerable has stayed stable through the years. Compared to 2022, three-quarters of the areas have developed in a negative direction or been unchanged, while the rest have had a positive development.”

The police define an “especially vulnerable area” as being “characterized by social issues and a criminal presence which has led to a widespread disinclination to participate in the judicial process and difficulties for the police to fulfil their mission”.

The “vulnerable” category is defined as “a geographically defined area characterized by a low socio-economic status where criminals have an impact on the local community”.

“Risk areas” sit somewhere in between the two categories.

Seved in Malmö has been removed from the list of “specially vulnerable areas”. This picture shows a street in Seved cordoned off after an attempted murder in 2022. Photo: Andreas Hillergren/TT

Which areas have improved?

Biskopsgården, Gottsunda and Södra Sofielund (Seved), have been downgraded from “specially vulnerable” to “risk area”, while Karlsund in Landskrona has been downgraded from being a “risk area” to just a “vulnerable area”.

Police said that these reevaluations had generally followed “changes in the level of open drug-dealing, threats, violence and abuse of police personnel, falls in violent crime, or changes in the criminal groups, for example following the detention of leading criminals.

Six areas, Älvsjö/Solberga, Östberga, Edsberg and Termovägen in Stockholm, Lagersberg in Eskilstuna, and Charlottesborg in Kristianstad, have left the list of troubled areas entirely.

Police said that these areas had left the list because they had seen “a positive development for a considerable length of time”, which was judged to be “stable”.

“Local police officers now describe these areas in the same way as they describe other non-vulnerable areas,” the report said. “Violent crime and open drug dealing has reduced at the same time as police can operate in the area without any problems.”

Three specially vulnerable areas, Rinkeby/Tensta and Husby in Stockholm, and Hjällbo in Gothenburg, were judged to have improved, but not to the extent that a change in category was warranted.

Which areas have got worse?

Hovsjö in Södertälje, outside Stockholm, was the only new area to join the “especially vulnerable” list.

Saltskog, also in Södertälje, joined the “vulnerable” list for the first time, as did Hagalund in Stockholm, Årby in Eskilstuna and Hageby in Norrköping.

Police judged that the situation in Rosengård, Malmö, Fittja in Stockholm and Hässleholmen in Borås had deteriorated, with the three areas still in the “specially vulnerable category”.

The situation had also deteriorated in Tureborg in Stockholm, but not to the extent that it needed to be upgraded from “risk area” to “specially vulnerable area”.

Of the areas which already classed as “vulnerable” in 2021, only Jordbro in Nynäshamn and Skogås, Storvreten and Vårberg in Stockholm had moved in a negative direction.

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