Updated 19:56 | Published at 7:35 p.m
1 / 6 Photo: Ali Lorestani/TT
Turmoil and violent rioting broke out on Järvafältet in Stockholm in connection with an Eritrean festival.
Eight people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries and around a hundred people have been detained.
At the same time, the police state that a total of over 50 people were injured, of which three were police officers according to Aftonbladet. It is about injuries of various kinds, ranging from those that required hospital care to minor injuries. All persons are set up as plaintiffs by the police.
The riot happened on Thursday in connection with a demonstration held near the festival, which is organized annually by people who support the regime in Eritrea. Witnesses have told TT that several hundred people took part in the commotion that followed when, among other things, protesters critical of the regime and festival visitors clashed.
Region Stockholm states in a press release that fifteen people have been taken to hospital, eight of whom have serious injuries. The region has gone into so-called staff mode.
“It is a complicated and extensive effort. There are many people in motion at the scene and the total damage status is still unclear,” says chief physician Patrik Söderberg in the press release.
Raija was in the vicinity of the events and saw, among other things, a person being hit in the head by a stone bumble.
– I was handling the horse and I saw how they started running down the hill with sticks and stones, she says.
The police were at the scene at 2 pm with a large resource to deal with the riot. Helmeted officers cordoned off a large area around the scene, and traffic was stopped on the E18 as people were on the roadway.
Police resources too small
The police stated at 6 p.m. that more than 100 people had been detained, and that preliminary investigations into violent riot, arson and serious blue light sabotage had been launched.
– I would describe this as a big effort on our part. We had already planned to avoid disturbances, but we saw that the resources we had at the scene were not sufficient when it escalated, says Daniel Wikdahl, press spokesperson at the police.
– There were upset feelings right from the start. Quite early on, they tore down a fence and left the area for their general assembly.
At least ten cars – and several tents on the festival grounds – were set on fire in connection with the riot. TT’s reporter on the spot described that a heavy column of smoke billowed from Järvafältet.
Throwing stones at each other
Emma, aged 15, watched as two gangs threw stones at each other and beat each other with bats.
– I was going to ride, but it didn’t work because stones came at us. And then they set fire to cars, she says.
– There were at least a hundred people.
Masod, originally from Bangladesh, lives in the area and does not understand what happened.
– Why do you import problems like this here? We have moved from a country we do not feel safe in, to Sweden. Then why do you come here and argue with each other, he tells TT.
Now he feels worried about his daughter and wants to move from Järva.
– I get worried about my child, says Masod.
Got trapped in a bath
Johan and his two children, six and eight years old, were trapped at a swimming pool near the festival area.
– We had swimming school with the children, and then the pool staff closed the gates due to the riots outside so that no one could enter, he says.
The festival in question, Festival Eritrea Scandinavia, has been organized since the 1990s, according to Nyhetsbyrån Järva. The event has previously been criticized for attending to the business of the Eritrean regime. It has also been reported that the regime earns millions of kroner from the festival.
Currents: Not reasonable
In the past, many have demonstrated against the festival under the slogan “Dawit Isaak Campaign” after the Eritrean-Swedish writer Dawit Isaak, who has been imprisoned in Eritrea without trial since 2001.
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) comments on the events via a written statement:
“It is not reasonable for Sweden to be drawn into other countries’ domestic conflicts in this way. If you flee to Sweden to escape violence, or are on a temporary visit, you must not cause violence here. The police’s resources are needed for other purposes than keeping different groups apart from each other”.