On Thursday morning, the district court’s verdict came against five young people after the riots in Malmö in September 2023. The young people, who are between the ages of 15 and 19, are sentenced for, among other things, gross sabotage against blue light operations, violent riot and arson.
The 19-year-old is sentenced to two years and six months in prison, a 16-year-old to closed youth care and three young people to youth supervision. A youth under the age of 15 does not receive a penalty as he is not of legal age, Malmö District Court writes on its website.
Two of the defendants are completely acquitted by the district court.
The young people are said to have lured police officers there and then attacked them, according to the verdict.
Liability for damages
Three of the young people convicted of arson will be jointly and severally liable for damages of almost SEK 700,000 and two of them with a further SEK 700,000.
The investigation shows that police officers who moved in the area were met with extensive stone throwing and burning cars. In the evidence presented, their own cellphone footage from the riot will be used.
The district court also states that there has been a question of “extensive and very serious attacks” against blue light operations, the rescue service and police vehicles.
– We have taken their phones, entered them and then seen that they have a lot of material that ties them to the location, said prosecutor Henrik Nordquist to TV4 Nyheterna.
Chaotic scenes
It was in September last year that Salwan Momika carried out a Koran burning in the Rosengård district. Several hundred people had gathered and the gathering had to be interrupted after the cordon was forced.
Chaotic scenes then erupted where, among other things, stones were thrown at the police and about 20 cars were also set on fire.
Henrik Nordquist explains that it was a solid effort to identify the people who were at the scene. Among other things, they should have been able to connect the unmasked people with the same clothes they were wearing during the riot, even though they were then masked.
Bigger harm to release more movies
After the riots took place, the prosecutor also wanted to use film material from eight media companies, including from TV4, SVT and Aftonbladet. However, the prosecutor was refused by the court in that case.
The reason must then be that more people may be suspected of crimes if more films are released.
– The damage from releasing these videos to those who are not yet suspects is greater than the gain for the prosecution that the prosecutor has already brought, says Christina Nilsson, councilor in Malmö district court to TV4 Nyheterna.