In a motion, Moderate Member of Parliament Jan Ericson is asking the parliament to support the legalization of the possession and use of pepper spray. Ericson believes that society has let down its citizens, and the benefits of allowing Swedes to possess pepper spray outweigh any potential risks.
"Many girls and women feel an increased sense of insecurity in our society. More and more people are taking self-defense courses, and many use alarms and other measures to defend themselves against attacks. At the same time, there is a very effective means of defense against attacks that is not allowed – pepper spray", he writes, among other things.
Ericson points out that in a society that "has let people down by not forcefully acting against insecurity", it is also "reasonable to allow people to use pepper spray".
"Therefore, it should be considered whether the prohibition against possessing and using pepper spray should be lifted. The benefit of an individual experiencing increased security should be valued higher than the potential risks of lifting the ban".
This is not the first time Ericson has made a motion about pepper spray – as early as 2017, he wanted sales of the spray to be allowed, primarily due to the growing number of rapes and sexual assaults that have dramatically increased in Sweden.
Currently, anyone found in possession of pepper spray risks being convicted of a weapons offense, which could theoretically result in a prison sentence.
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Six young men and women are being prosecuted at Värmland District Court in Sweden, suspected of systematically exploiting and abusing people with intellectual disabilities. The charges include serious sexual offenses and extensive fraud.
The prosecutor describes the crimes as planned and characterized by particular ruthlessness and brutality. The indictment covers three men and three women aged 20–25, residing in the Swedish cities of Karlstad, Eskilstuna, Örebro, and Örnsköldsvik.
They are suspected of jointly contacting their victims via the internet, forcing them to perform sexual acts on themselves, and then filming, distributing, and ridiculing the material.
According to Senior Prosecutor Lena Bohlin, the crimes were not committed for personal sexual gratification, but with the intent to sexually humiliate. She states that the victims were in a particularly vulnerable situation due to their disabilities, and that the abuse was both repeated and degrading.
The indictment reveals that several of the accused participated simultaneously in each incident and encouraged the victims to perform acts such as penetrating themselves with various objects.
The videos were then shared within the group, often accompanied by laughter and derogatory comments.
— I have classified several incidents as serious crimes, partly because there are multiple perpetrators and because the criminality was part of a systematic violation of the victims' sexual integrity. Many of the acts also contain degrading elements, says prosecutor Lena Bohlin in a press release.
Systematic and well-planned
In addition to the sexual offenses, several of the suspects are charged with serious fraud. Through so-called romance scams, the victims were manipulated into transferring large sums of money – sometimes over €85,000 – under the pretense of being in a romantic relationship.
The scheme is described as well-planned and part of a larger systematic pattern. According to the indictment, the victims lacked the ability to understand the seriousness of the situation and to protect themselves from the manipulation.
Initially, investigators suspected a connection between the fraud crimes and the sexual offenses.
— But as the investigation has progressed, we can see that the connection is weak. There is a connection between one of the plaintiffs in the sexual crimes and one fraud case, but otherwise there are no connections, says Lena Bohlin.
In the extensive preliminary investigation, police have secured videos, chats, and other digital evidence showing how the victims were instructed, threatened, and ridiculed.
The investigation began in Eskilstuna in March 2025, after a phone containing the material was found by police. All six suspects deny the charges, despite what the prosecutor describes as strong evidence.
The main trial will begin on November 13 at Värmland District Court and is expected to last 13 days. Several of the hearings with the plaintiffs will be conducted via video link due to their special needs.
Case number at Värmland District Court: B 1434-25.
An 18-year-old man of Syrian origin has been charged with preparing a terrorist attack in the name of the Islamic State against the Culture Festival in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm. The charges include bomb planning, recording a martyrdom video, and a previous attempted murder.
According to the indictment, the 18-year-old man planned the attack between August 2024 and February 2025. He allegedly conducted reconnaissance at the festival site, made searches related to the event, and attempted to manufacture explosives.
The prosecutor describes how the 18-year-old purchased equipment, including a body camera, and recorded a so-called martyrdom video as early as January.
– We maintain that the purpose of the preparations was to instill serious fear in the population in the name of the Islamic State. The criminal act could have seriously harmed Sweden, the prosecutor writes in the indictment.
The man was arrested shortly after SÄPO (the Swedish Security Service) assessed that he had begun manufacturing possible explosive charges. On February 3, deputy chief prosecutor Henrik Olin at the National Security Unit ordered his detention in absentia, and just over a week later he was remanded in custody.
– The target was the Culture Festival in Kungsträdgården in August, says Henrik Olin.
As a minor, he was sentenced in 2022 to youth care for emergency services sabotage during the Easter riots in Linköping, Sweden. He has also previously been convicted of robbery and drug offenses.
Terror crimes and attempted murder
The 18-year-old is also being charged, together with a 17-year-old from Malmö, Sweden, for attempted murder in the German city of Eppstein in August 2024. According to the indictment, they allegedly obtained a knife, conducted reconnaissance at the victim's residence, and attempted to gain entry before the attack was interrupted and police were alerted.
Both are also charged with serious participation in a terrorist organization. Authorities have seized terrorism-related material from them, including a pledge of allegiance to IS.
The 18-year-old man is additionally charged with preparation for serious crimes against the law on flammable and explosive substances, as well as serious training for terrorism.
Both the 18-year-old and the 17-year-old deny the charges.
Ten people have been taken to hospital following a knife attack on a London-bound train in eastern England, with nine of the injured suffering life-threatening injuries. Two people have been arrested and counter-terrorism police are participating in the investigation, but no motive has yet been established.
Bloodied passengers streamed out of the intercity train when it made an emergency stop in the town of Huntingdon, where dozens of police officers were waiting, shortly after multiple stabbings were reported on board. Two people were arrested by armed police at the station.
Police have not identified the suspects or revealed any motive, but state that counter-terrorism police are supporting the investigation.
"Ten people have been taken to hospital with nine believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries. This has been declared a major incident and Counter Terrorism Policing are supporting our investigation whilst we work to establish the full circumstances and motivation for this incident", the British Transport Police said in a statement early Sunday morning.
Police stated that "Plato", the national code word used by police and emergency services during suspected terrorist attacks, was activated. This declaration was later withdrawn, but no motive for the attack has been made public.
Unwilling to comment on motive
— We're conducting urgent enquiries to establish what has happened, and it could take some time before we are in a position to confirm anything further, commented Chief Superintendent Chris Casey, according to AP.
— At this early stage it would not be appropriate to speculate on the causes of the incident.
The attack took place when the train from Doncaster in northern England to London's King's Cross station was approximately halfway through its two-hour journey and approaching Huntingdon, a market town a few miles northwest of the university city of Cambridge.
Passenger Olly Foster told the BBC that he heard people shouting "run, run, there's a guy literally stabbing everyone", and initially thought it might be a Halloween prank. But when passengers pushed past him to escape, he noticed his hand was covered in blood from a chair he had leaned against.
I was on the Huntingdon train.
I only know of one attacker, he got on the train from Peterborough. He was black mid 20’s. We ran from the back of the train to the end as everyone was screaming to run, explaining there was somebody stabbing everyone and everything.
Emergency services, including armed police and air ambulances, arrived quickly as the train rolled into Huntingdon. The attack appears to have been stopped quickly after the train arrived at the station, and officers in forensic suits, along with a police dog, could be seen on the platform.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the local police force, stated that officers were called at 7:39 PM on Saturday evening to the scene, approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of London.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his "thoughts are with all those affected" by the "appalling incident".
Paul Bristow, mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said he had heard of "horrendous scenes" on the train.
London North Eastern Railway, LNER, which operates the East Coast Main Line service in Britain, confirmed that the incident occurred on one of its trains and announced there would be major disruptions on the route until Monday.
Nearly three-quarters of all those convicted of gang-related crimes in Denmark have immigrant backgrounds from non-Western countries, according to new figures from the country's Ministry of Justice. The statistics have once again sparked a political debate about crime, culture and integration in the Scandinavian nation.
According to the Danish government report, 72 percent of all those convicted under the country's so-called gang paragraph have immigrant backgrounds, reports Berlingske, a major Danish newspaper.
The data, compiled by Statistics Denmark and the Danish Director of Public Prosecutions at the request of Conservative MP Mai Mercado, covers the years 2018 to 2025.
During this period, a total of 213 people were convicted under the paragraph. Of these, 54 had Danish backgrounds, 36 were immigrants from non-Western countries, and 117 were descendants of immigrants from the same regions.
Section § 81a of the Danish Penal Code allows courts to double sentences if a crime is committed within gang criminal circles.
Researcher Lars Højsgaard Andersen at the Rockwool Foundation notes that several countries stand out in the statistics: Iraq, Turkey, Somalia and Lebanon. He suggests that cultural differences in views on law and authority "may play a certain role".
Conservative spokesperson on migration issues Frederik Bloch Münster describes the figures as "remarkably high".
Clear difference from population composition
The fact that the figure is so markedly high attracts attention, as only about 15 percent of Denmark's population consists of people with foreign backgrounds. Although this percentage is not insignificant in itself, the statistics show a strong overrepresentation of non-European immigrants.
According to Statistics Denmark, Lebanon is the most common country of origin among convicted gang members (35 cases), followed by Somalia (29), Iraq (23) and Turkey (17).
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has previously called uncontrolled immigration Denmark's "greatest threat".
In a statement in May, she said: — If too many people come who commit crimes, who are not democrats and who threaten our trusting and open society, then that is the greatest danger.
Archive image. Photo: Welcomia/iStock
Danish People's Party mobilizes
The new figures are being released as the Danish People's Party (DF) launches one of Europe's most restrictive immigration programs ahead of the upcoming election. The party proposes mass returns, citizenship reviews and bans on Islamic customs.
In its manifesto, DF claims that mass immigration from the Middle East and North Africa has brought "crime, parallel societies and cultural change".
The party also warns that immigration from countries such as Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia has led to "the largest demographic change in Denmark's history," and argues that "Middle Eastern conditions must be pushed back so that everyone in the country can feel at home."
Unlike countries such as Germany and France, Denmark registers crime statistics based on migration background. The purpose is to better evaluate integration even among citizens with foreign parents.
But the figures are striking: according to Statistics Denmark, second-generation immigrants show even higher crime rates than the first generation – which already stands at a level far above ethnic Danes.
