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CRIME

Swedish police forced to release murderer

Police in Norrbotten have been forced to release a 30-year-old man convicted in is absence of a murder in France.

Published: 19 March 2008 08:24 CET

Police in the northern Swedish county arrested the Kazakh national in the town of Boden after an international warrant had been put out for his arrest.

But regional police said they had to release the murderer after French authorities failed to retrieve him before the ten day maximum detention period had elapsed.

The man had managed to escape justice in a number of countries before being arrested in Sweden on January 28th. French police were informed of the arrest via Interpol before Luleå District Court ruled in February that the man should be extradited.

But four hours before the end of the ten day time limit, French police got in touch to say that they would not make it in time to retrieve the man. Police in Norrbotten were left with no option but to release him.

The man is now believed by police to have fled Sweden.

Over a thousand people join protest against Stockholm attack

The demonstration, which was organised by the Left Party and the Green Party together with Expo, an anti-extremist magazine, was held outside the Moment theatre, where masked assailants attacked a lecture organised by the two parties on Wednesday.

In the attack, the assailants – described as Nazis by Expo – let off smoke grenades and assaulted several people, three of whom were hospitalised.

“Let’s say it how it is: this was a terror attack and that is something we can never accept,” said Amanda Lind, who is expected to be voted in as the joint leader of the Green Party on Sunday.

She said that those who had attended the lecture had hoped to swap ideas about how to combat racism.

“Instead they had to experience smoke bombs, assault and were forced to think ‘have they got weapons’?. The goal of this attack was to use violence to generate fear and silence people,” she said.

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

More than a thousand people gathered to protest the attack on a theatre in Gubbängen, Stockholm. Photo: Oscar Olsson/TT

Nooshi Dadgostar, leader of the Left Party, said that that society needed to stand up against this type of extreme-right violence.

“We’re here today to show that which should be obvious: we will not give up, we will stand up for ourselves, and we shall never be silenced by racist violence,” said said.

Sofia Zwahlen, one of the protesters at the demonstration, told the DN newspaper that it felt positive that so many had turned up to show their opposition to the attacks.

“It feels extremely good that there’s been this reaction, that we are coming together. I’m always a little worried about going to this sort of demonstration. But this feels safe.”

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