SHARE
COPY LINK

CLIMATE CRISIS

Swedish court waives fine for activist due to ‘climate emergency’

A Swedish activist who blocked traffic in Stockholm won't have to pay a fine as he carried out the protest to fight the climate crisis, a court has ruled. But the ruling is unlikely to be upheld by the appeals court.

Swedish court waives fine for activist due to 'climate emergency'
A book of Swedish laws. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

Climate activist Noa Tucker, a former local politician for the Green Party, took part in a demonstration in Stockholm in summer last year which blocked Kungsgatan, one of the capital’s busiest streets, during rush hour.

He was arrested on the charge of disobeying a police order, and was found guilty in court, although he will not have to pay a fine.

According to court documents seen by The Local, the court found that Tucker had indeed disobeyed police orders, but argued that Tucker’s actions were carried out in response to a concrete threat – the climate emergency – arguing that this meant a fine would be “unreasonable”.

The court described the climate crisis as an “acute situation of emergency,” adding that “the effects of climate change are already noticeable”.

Two nämndemän, or lay judges, ruled that the fine should be waived, with the professional judge and one lay judge dissenting, ruling that he should be fined.

nämndeman is a politically-appointed layman who together with a professional judge passes judgement in court.

However, when the bench is divided, then the weaker sentence, in this case not having to pay a fine, wins.

Tucker’s lawyer, Pia Björstrand, told SVT that neither she nor any of her colleagues have ever seen a similar sentence.

“I view this as historic,” she said. “Not because it will stand [in appeals court] and become precedent, but because this is the first time in Swedish history where we have a sentence which actually states that we are in an acute climate emergency.”

She underlined, however, that as the sentence was determined by laymen, it is unlikely to be held up if appealed.

Tucker shared her view.

“I obviously hope that they can understand the severity of the situation and can see this as acting in an emergency situation, but there are a lot of indicators that this might not hold,” he told SVT.

The use of non-professionals in the legal system is not without its controversies. 

In a famous example from 2018, The Local revealed that two lay judges at Solna District Court appointed by the Centre Party had swung a court ruling based on what party leader Annie Lööf described as “Islamist” values, and in doing so acquitted a man of an alleged assault against his wife.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

Illegal Swedish strawberry sales raise billions of kronor for organised crime

Swedish police have carried out raids on strawberry vendors suspected of being linked to gang crime.

Illegal Swedish strawberry sales raise billions of kronor for organised crime

According to Aftonbladet, the raids may be connected to one of Sweden’s most wanted gang leaders, Ismail Abdo, nicknamed Jordgubben (“The Strawberry”).

Police didn’t comment on specific names of gang leaders linked to the raids, but said in a statement that they had “hit a central violent actor by targeting individuals around this person and their business structures”.

Raids were carried out in Bergslagen, as well as the Mitt and Stockholm police regions.

It’s suspected that these sellers had been marketing Belgian strawberries as Swedish and using the revenue to fund serious organised crime. Police also found children under the legal working age and migrants without legal residency permits working at the stalls.

Police believe that illegal strawberry sales turn over billions of kronor every year.

“We’ve carried out multiple actions together with other authorities,” Per Lundbäck, from the Bergslagen policing region, told Swedish news agency TT. “By cutting off the finances off this type of organised crime, we can weaken gangs’ financing and their ability to carry out crimes.”

To avoid buying strawberries linked to crime, Lundbäck recommends paying attention to the company you buy your strawberries from.

“The first thing you can do is look at the number the (mobile phone payment app) Swish payment goes to, to make sure it’s a company number starting with 123, and not a private number,” he said.

Most companies will have their Swish number displayed somewhere on the stand, so you should be able to check this even if you don’t have the app and are paying with card, for example.

He also added that you can pay attention to the age of the person selling the strawberries, describing very young sellers as a “red flag”.

SHOW COMMENTS