Thursday, September 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Swedish district court rent payments go to identified gang members

Deteriorating safety

Published 5 February 2024
– By Editorial Staff
The building at Stora Torget in Södertälje that houses the city's district court.
4 minute read

The Södertälje district court is owned by a group of companies directly linked to a key figure in the notorious Södertälje network, according to the Bonnier newspaper DN.

Despite several attempts by the Swedish Courts Administration to break the link, the lease remains in place and the report shows links between the owners and the city’s organized crime gangs.

The Södertälje district court is grappling with a dark reality of serious crime, where murder, kidnapping and extortion seem to have become commonplace. It has now been revealed that the county court is owned by a group of companies linked to a central figure in the Södertälje network. Despite attempts by the Swedish National Courts Administration (Domstolsverket) to resolve the situation, the agency pays millions in rent to the company every year, according to the Bonnier-owned newspaper DN.

The county court building and the old police station in Södertälje were previously owned by a large, publicly traded real estate company. Due to the high level of crime in the city, the real estate giant decided to sell and leave Södertälje, according to insider reports from the company.

In 2016, the property was sold when a couple of local entrepreneurs stepped in. Their company quickly became part of a larger group, and the group’s main owner drew strong reactions from both the police and prosecutors working against organized crime.

At the head of the group, a well-known construction contractor is registered as the main owner. Although the man has not yet been convicted of any crime, he has been identified as a key player in the Södertälje network, according to a secret report by the National Operations Department (Polisens nationella operativa avdelning NOA).

“Oh, my God! I think I’m going to faint! Södertälje District Court is owned by a group of companies directly linked to a key person in the Södertälje network, reports DN. In addition, several of the owners have had access to the district court’s premises. The Swedish National Courts Administration has tried to solve the problem, but has not succeeded”, comments Twitter/X user Victoria W Andersson.

Ongoing investigation

An ongoing investigation against the man, led by prosecutor Fredrik Sandberg, concerns extensive financial crimes, including money laundering and transactions of more than SEK 3.5 million (eur 3.1 million), in several of his companies. One of these companies is directly linked to the ownership of the building where the district court is located.

The somewhat peculiar ownership structure of the Södertälje District Court has long been the subject of concern within the Swedish National Courts Administration, with internal documents revealing discussions about the link to the partners and the desire for a link to the security unit.

The management of the courthouse has also been problematic. The current owners used to have access to the courthouse and garage. However, for security reasons, the court was able to stop this and an administrator – albeit one appointed by the owners – took over.

Nina Stubbe, court manager at Södertälje District Court, also confirms that she still meets the owners from time to time.

– I sometimes meet them down here, she says, referring to the area next to the garage.

Södertälje has become a very crime-prone city. Photo: Holger.Ellgaard/CC BY-SA 4.0

Cash cow for criminals

Rental income from the district court has proven to be a significant cash cow for the group, with more than 45 million SEK paid by the Swedish National Courts Administration over the past seven years. The owners have also taken significant profits – SEK 12 million in 2023 alone – which has raised questions about the appropriateness of this financial arrangement.

The person who signed the profit distribution is the man’s close business partner, who is also a partner in the group. He is also identified by several police sources as a key part of Södertälje’s organized crime. The man has previously been convicted of violent crimes and his bank accounts have been frozen.

Harald Pleijel, director of property at the Swedish National Courts Administration, and Nina Stubbe, head of the district court, question the whole system where private actors with profit interests can own courts. This could ultimately threaten the independence of the courts.

– Should we have courts that are owned by private for-profit actors? Even foreign actors? asks Stubbe.

Last fall, the Swedish National Court Administration decided to leave the property on Storgatan and try to find a new landlord. It also considered the possibility of building a completely new courthouse. However, despite the decision to leave the current premises, the court will continue to rent them for at least four more years – generating millions in additional revenue for the owners.

The Södertälje network (Södertäljenätverket) was previously referred to in mass media reports as the Syrian Brotherhood - but this name was abandoned as it was considered to stigmatize the ethnic group in question.

The criminal network is believed to consist of around 100 people and has been involved in a number of murders, explosions, extortion, money laundering, kidnapping, robbery, fraud and drug trafficking.

According to the police, the Södertälje network operates as a mafia-like organization and can be found in all areas of civil society. People with links to the gang are also involved in local politics.

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Orbán: Swedish leaders have driven the country into “barbarism and collapse”

organized crime

Published 16 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have a frosty relationship, to say the least.
2 minute read

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a harsh attack against Sweden’s political leadership in a fiery speech over the weekend.

“This is how a country collapses” and “what remains is barbarism”, said the Hungarian prime minister, who also claimed that hundreds of underage girls have been arrested for murder in Sweden.

During a political event in Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary, Orbán once again delivered scathing criticism of Swedish politicians. His message was clear: Sweden’s authorities have betrayed their people and allowed the country to fall apart.

— This news of the week is that in Sweden, 284 underage girls were arrested for murder. Not because they killed one person together, but each one separately, Orbán claimed before the audience.

The Hungarian leader continued by describing how these girls are exploited by criminal networks because they cannot be sentenced in court, and he argued that Swedish authorities bear ultimate responsibility.

— This is how a country collapses, every rule, all order breaks down. What remains is barbarism.

“Deserve better”

Orbán emphasized that this development has been ongoing for fifteen years under different Swedish governments and that the authorities have effectively relegated the country outside European civilization. As a final jab at the Swedish government, he added:

— By the way, these are the Swedes who lecture us about the rule of law.

The statement has spread through a video where images from Orbán’s speech are interspersed with clips of Swedish police and various crime scenes.

“The Swedish people deserve better”, wrote the Hungarian prime minister when he shared the video – a clear indication that his criticism is directed at the country’s ruling elite, not at the Swedish people.

“Outrageous lies”

Orbán’s claims are based on an article from German newspaper Welt. The article reported that approximately 280 girls between 15 and 17 years old were investigated for violent crimes during the previous year – not exclusively murder as Orbán claimed.

The attack comes after a period of diplomatic tensions between the two countries’ governments. Hungary was the last to approve Sweden’s NATO membership, and the Swedish government has in turn directed harsh criticism at what is alleged to be Hungary’s democratic backsliding and restrictions on LGBTQ rights. As recently as August, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson accused Hungary’s leadership of standing “on the wrong side of history”.

The Swedish prime minister chose to respond to Orbán’s statement on X by focusing on the incorrect figures rather than how he and other Swedish politicians have failed to stop the advance of organized crime.

“These are outrageous lies. Not surprising coming from the man who is dismantling the rule of law in his own country. Orbán is desperate ahead of the upcoming Hungarian election”, he claims.

Swedish government proposes prison from age 13

Deteriorating safety

Published 10 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Despite decades in the corridors of power, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has failed to tackle gang crime – but now things will be different, he claims.
3 minute read

The age of criminal responsibility will be lowered from 15 to 13 years for particularly serious crimes such as murder and serious bombings. This is promised by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson together with the party leaders of Sweden Democrats, Christian Democrats and Liberals.

In a debate article in the Bonnier publication Expressen, they argue that the law change should be time-limited to five years and only apply to the most serious crimes.

“In the serious situation we are in, we must try new measures. One thing is certain: if we keep doing what we have always done, things will keep turning out the way they always have”, the party leaders write.

The party leaders point out that the number of suspected crimes involving children under 15 has doubled in a decade and that those suspected in life-threatening shootings have become increasingly younger.

“This development must be stopped”, they state, arguing that serious crime is creeping down to younger ages.

At the same time, they highlight that the total number of shootings has decreased since 2022 and that they have more than halved so far this year compared to the record year of 2022. “But we still have levels of violence that no decent society can accept”, they write.

Three reasons for the reduction

The Swedish government and Sweden Democrats cite three main reasons for lowering the age of criminal responsibility. First, they argue that the chance of a child breaking a criminal lifestyle is greater the earlier appropriate measures are implemented.

“By lowering the age of criminal responsibility, we open up the entire toolbox of police and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service at an earlier stage”, it states.

Second, it concerns the state’s obligation to protect citizens from crime. Sanctions such as community service, youth care, youth supervision or prison enable more control and recidivism prevention measures, the party leaders argue.

Third, the sanction is important for the victim’s vindication and the legitimacy of legislation, particularly for young crime victims who are most severely affected by young criminals.

“Today’s system is not sufficient”

“It is obvious that today’s system for young criminals is not sufficient”, the party leaders write, directing criticism at previous policies. They argue that preventive measures should have been implemented ten years ago when today’s young criminals were small children.

The party leaders point out that several other countries have lower ages of criminal responsibility. In Ireland it is 12 years, and 10 years for certain serious crimes. In the Netherlands the age of criminal responsibility is 12 years and in England 10 years.

In addition to lowering the age of criminal responsibility, the government and Sweden Democrats highlight several other measures that have been implemented or are planned, including the establishment of youth prisons and the abolition of the so-called youth discount for young adults.

Police will also be able to use secret and preventive coercive measures against children under 15 in order to reach those who order crimes and prevent crimes before they are committed. In addition, secrecy barriers between schools, social services and police have been removed so that authorities can collaborate more easily.

Children tricked into sending nude photos – then extorted for money

Deteriorating safety

Published 6 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The police emphasize that parents must not blame the victimized children.
2 minute read

Last year, sexual extortion against children increased by 192 percent globally. Perpetrators manipulate children into sending nude photos of themselves and then demand money to prevent them from being distributed.

Sexual extortion of children for financial gain, known as sextortion, is increasing dramatically both in Sweden and worldwide. According to the American organization National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), reports of adults seeking contact with children online increased by a full 192 percent last year.

It is particularly teenage boys who are affected by this type of crime, which differs from other sexual crimes through its clear financial motive.

Louise Åhlén, development officer at the Swedish police unit Isöb Noa, which works with internet-related sexual crimes against children, describes the perpetrators’ methods:

— A common approach is that the perpetrator pretends to be a peer and tricks them into sending nude photos or videos. Then they threaten to distribute the image to family and friends if the child doesn’t send money to the perpetrator, she says.

“The children have done nothing wrong”

The Swedish police emphasize that how parents react if their child is affected is crucial. Louise Åhlén warns against reacting with anger or punishment:

— The absolutely most important thing is that we as parents don’t get angry at our children for having sent a nude photo or paid to avoid having them distributed. When we at the police find a child we believe has been victimized, the affected children often don’t want to tell anyone because they feel so much guilt and shame. But the children have done nothing wrong, they must receive understanding and support from the adult world, Åhlén explains.

Because the subject is so guilt-ridden and frightening for children who are affected, the number of unreported cases is probably very large. The police urge adults to talk with children both to prevent and to help those who have already been victimized.

— Ask and be curious about what’s happening in the child’s life, both what occurs online and offline, and don’t punish the child by removing apps or the phone if they’ve been victimized.

The Swedish police emphasize that children and young people’s online lives are a natural part of their everyday life that cannot or should not be prohibited.

— Children and young people socialize online. They chat and play together, it’s an important part of children’s everyday life today. We can’t protect children by forbidding them from using specific apps or games – it’s knowledge, presence and understanding that’s needed, Åhlén concludes.

Police warn of persistently high violence in Sweden

organized crime

Published 27 August 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The current extensive gang-related violence is now to be considered a permanent feature in Sweden, according to police.
3 minute read

After a series of shootings and explosions in the Stockholm area in recent weeks, police do not want to speak of a temporary wave of violence. Instead, the regional police chief describes the situation as a “constantly high level of violence in Sweden”.

Upplands Väsby, Kallhäll, Viksjö, Bromma and Sätra – the list of places in the Stockholm area that have been hit by shootings and bombings recently continues to grow.

Most recently, during the night leading to Wednesday, an extensive police operation was underway in Viksjö, northwest of Stockholm, after a shooting at a gas station where two people were injured. Shortly before, on August 25, two people were shot dead in a car in a parking lot in nearby Kallhäll. Police cannot yet answer whether there are connections between the various incidents.

Despite the recent concentration of violent crimes in northern Stockholm, police do not want to use the term “wave of violence” to describe the development.

— I would rather say that we have seen a number of completed crimes in a short time and with a clear geographical limitation to northern Stockholm, says Magnus Mowitz, regional police chief for Stockholm north, on Swedish public television SVT’s morning show.

He emphasizes that police have simultaneously succeeded in preventing a series of planned violent crimes, but acknowledges the grim reality:

— The term wave of violence is not something we use, however we can see that there are violent crimes that continuously occur. We have a constantly high level of violence in Sweden, he states.

Thousands of gang criminals

Before the 1990s, gang crime was essentially an unknown phenomenon in Sweden, where the organized crime that did exist was mainly linked to motorcycle gangs and where violent confrontations with firearms and explosives on open streets were virtually non-existent. Sweden was long one of Europe’s safest countries with one of the world’s lowest murder rates.

Over the past three decades, however, the situation has changed dramatically. In pace with unlimited mass immigration from conflict-affected areas in the Third World, criminal networks have been established in suburbs around the country.

From being concentrated in the metropolitan areas’ vulnerable neighborhoods, gang crime has now spread to virtually all Swedish cities of any size, and police estimate that today the number of active individuals in the criminal networks amounts to more than 14,000 individuals – from Malmö in the south to Kiruna in the north.

Turning over multi-billion amounts annually

The criminal networks are not only engaged in spectacular bombings and murders. Drug trafficking still forms the backbone of the operations, but the gangs have significantly diversified their criminal activities. Extortion of business owners, particularly in the suburbs, has become increasingly common, and welfare fraud through fake assistance companies and other schemes drain billions from taxpayers every year.

Human trafficking, arms smuggling, theft gangs and receiving stolen goods are also part of the repertoire, while money laundering occurs through real estate investments, currency exchange offices and cryptocurrencies.

Exactly how much money organized crime turns over each year is impossible to answer, but estimates from police suggest it amounts to approximately €9-14 billion annually.

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