The 22-year-old man, who is a resident of Småland, was arrested by Säpo in Western Sweden last week. The arrest must have been calm.
“It happened on February 21 by us but with the support of the Police Authority,” says Säpo’s press spokesman Gabriel Wernström.
Schoolmate was recently convicted of terrorist offenses
The case can be linked to a previous case where another 22-year-old man was convicted of several terrorist-related crimes. For TV4 News, Säpo states that it is a case in the spring of 2024 when a 22-year-old man was arrested by the intervention force at Arlanda after trying to join IS.
– That person was convicted of several different terrorist -related crimes, it was about traveling, participation and financing of terrorism, says Gabriel Wernström.
In total, the convicted 22-year-old man conducted four trips mapped by Säpo, the first trip to Mecca, the police did not consider criminal.
During three of the four mapped trips, the now suspected 22-year-old was fellow traveler. In interrogation, he stated that the convicted man and he knew each other for a long time and went to school together.
His friend was arrested at Arlanda when he was on his way to Somalia-it was the only trip that the now detained 22-year-old did not follow.
Are suspected of two terror travel
The arrest request shows that the now detained 22-year-old is suspected of financing terrorism and two cases of terrorism travel. One of the trips is in line with the journey the man carried out with his childhood friend to Somalia in March 2024.
Then the two men traveled via Turkey but were then arrested on arrival in Somalia and sent home to Sweden. In interrogation, the 22-year-old stated that Somalia “was so close so they could go there too” and that it was a spontaneous trip.
Stated that he wanted to visit museums
The previous preliminary investigation regarding his friend stated that the now detained 22-year-old was also suspected of crime in connection with two of the trips, but was heard as a witness in that investigation.
For the interrogators, he stated that he wanted to travel to Ethiopia because it is a “historical country” and that the company visited museums. During the trip he was reported as disappeared by his parents.
Two other men, one from the Netherlands and one from Sweden, were also on the trip to Ethiopia. They both have links to IS and the Dutch man was recently sentenced to four years in prison for trying to join IS.