It was on Wednesday that the police in Stockholm started a special incident after Säpo announced that they were seeing an increased number of threats against Sweden. Security must now be increased at “symbolically important objects”, which SVT was the first to report.
Behind the decisions lies the attention that the Koran burning in Stockholm received, and also the global campaign against Swedish social services.
The special event within the police goes by the name “Doris” and means that one must prioritize and develop the dialogue with relevant actors in society and inform the employees about the changed security situation.
The light on Sweden
— You see that both al-Qaeda and IS use the Koran burnings to appeal to solitary sympathizers to do something. The spotlight has ended up on Sweden and this is a way for the police to send signals that they are aware of it, says Magnus Ranstorpterrorism researcher at the Norwegian Defense Academy.
According to him, both Rasmus Paludan’s Koran burning and the disinformation campaign about social services have contributed to an increased focus on Sweden and an increased amount of propaganda for revenge actions.
— It is above all an administrative measure within the police, and gives a signal that they should be more prepared for something to happen. It doesn’t mean anything will happen but it raises awareness.
TT: Does that mean you should avoid crowds or certain plastics in Stockholm?
— No, the risk of being in a place where something might happen is very small and as a general rule you should continue to do what you usually do. If something happens, however, you should not go there but get to safety.
Not alarmist
The fact that it is Stockholm that initiates a special event is due to the fact that it is a big city and that it is there that there can be “symbolic targets”. The police did not want to go into who these might be.
According to Magnus Ranstorp, similar threats against Sweden occur continuously, but recent events have increased the focus. In the past, for example, there was a similar threat image against Lars Vilks.
— When IS had established the caliphate in 2014, the leader left al-Adnanin out and pleading to strike against the West by all available means. Then came a wave of terrorist attacks around Europe. Now they want to raise awareness, says Ranstad.
— But it is important to see that this is a precautionary measure, one must be alert but not alarmist.