https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedens-government-wants-to-place-prisoners-abroad/

Sweden

Sweden’s government wants to place prisoners abroad

Published 20 December 2023

– By Editorial Staff

Montage. Photo: facsimile/Government, Pexels

Gunnar Strömmer is on the lookout for prison sites in the "immediate area" around Sweden.

There is an acute shortage of places within the Prison and Probation Service – something the Swedish government hopes to solve by renting prison places in other countries. An investigator has now been appointed to examine whether this type of placement is practically viable.

– We must work on several fronts at the same time, said minister of justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) at a press conference on Thursday.

Politicians and the Prison and Probation Service have long warned that there are not enough places to house all prisoners, and existing institutions and remand prisons are currently being expanded across the country – yet the government says this is not enough.

The governing parties and the Sweden Democrats therefore hope to be able to rent prison places in other countries and have launched an investigation to examine whether this is possible, how much it would cost and what practical and organizational problems need to be solved. It will also analyze how to organize the transports, what kind of prisoners can be placed abroad and how to ensure that they are treated in an acceptable and legal way.

Mattias Wahlstedt, permanent secretary and deputy head of department at the Police Legal Department, has been appointed as an investigator and will work on this assignment for 12 months.

Looking in the local area

According to Gunnar Strömmer, it is not currently known which countries Sweden can sign agreements with – but the focus is on the “immediate area”.

– You can think of the Nordic region and Europe, where there is experience with other comparable countries that have rented sites abroad.

The Netherlands is an example of a European country that has received prisoners from other EU countries for a fee, and is one of the options the government will look at more closely.

– Of course there are risks, but I am convinced that it is possible to take care of them in a good way. That is what the investigator will do, and we are open to what the investigator will come up with. Our point is to get to the bottom of these issues, the justice minister continues.

According to Strömmer, Sweden needs to double the number of prison places compared to today.

Editorial Staff
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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/sweden-sees-rise-in-hazardous-waste-exports/

Sweden

Sweden sees rise in hazardous waste exports

Published yesterday 9:11

– By Editorial Staff

Press Photo: Mette Ottosson/Tullverket

Swedish Customs stopped a record amount of hazardous waste last year. The biggest increase was in the Stockholm area.

More than 1 529 tons of hazardous waste were stopped from being exported from Sweden to countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia in 2024. This is a significant increase compared to the 627 tons stopped in 2023 and a new record. The previous peak was measured in 2022 and was 1 043 tons. Waste exports are linked to organized crime and are estimated to generate around SEK 6.1 billion (€530 million) annually, according to the police.

– We know that waste exports to developing countries are a growing source of income for organized crime. That is why I am particularly pleased that we managed to stop so many exports of hazardous waste in 2024, says Director General of Customs Johan Norrman in a press release.

Six times as many cases

In total, Swedish Customs handled 88 cases of illegal waste exports to countries outside the EU, an increase from 47 cases the year before. The biggest increase was in the Stockholm area, where the amount of waste more than sixfold compared to the previous year.

The most common type of waste exported is still vehicles and vehicle parts. Of the 88 stopped exports, 71 contained either whole vehicles, such as cars, tractors and trucks, or parts, such as tires, engines, gearboxes and rims.

However, few of the cases lead to legal consequences, according to the Swedish Customs. The most common action is to issue an export ban for shipments of environmentally hazardous waste, while serious cases can lead to fines.

Editorial Staff
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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/gang-leader-expands-influence-in-sweden-from-abroad/

Sweden

Gang leader expands influence in Sweden – from abroad

Published 17 January 2025

– By Editorial Staff

Montage. Photo: Police, iStock/image focus

The gang leader Rawa Majid, who is considered the leader of the criminal organization Foxtrot, is expected to once again strengthen his power in Swedish gang crime. According to reports, arms contacts are a core part of his position of power.

Majid has been deemed to be behind a large number of shootings and explosions in Sweden and since 2020 the gang leader has been internationally wanted for serious drug offenses and preparation for murder.

In October 2023, he was arrested in Iran, but in May the following year, the Israeli intelligence service stated that the Swedish crime network Foxtrot and its leader Rawa Majid are now working for Iran, something that the Bonnier newspaper DN reported on with reference to documents they had access to.

At the same time, Majid is once again strengthening his power in Sweden from abroad via Foxtrot, according to sources to the Schibsted newspaper SvD.

– Foxtrot is gaining ground all the time. We see it in signals intelligence, in the conversations between those involved and in the weapons used, the source says.

According to the newspaper, one of Majid’s many factors for success in his criminal activities is contacts for arms smuggling from Bosnia to Sweden.

Editorial Staff
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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedens-train-punctuality-drops-to-lowest-point-since-2010/

Sweden

Sweden’s train punctuality drops to lowest point since 2010

Published 17 January 2025

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Jin Zan/CC0 1.0

Öresund train in Malmö.

In 2024, 87.2% of Swedish trains were on time – which in practice means that they arrived at their final destination less than six minutes behind schedule.

This is the worst figure since 2010, and the delays are partly due to maintenance work, but also to a large number of incidents involving unauthorized persons on the tracks.

– I want to emphasize that improving punctuality is not a quick fix, and that we continue to face a major challenge in balancing the sharp increase in traffic with a historically large investment in the maintenance of tracks, switches and overhead lines, says Anna Ericsson, head of the Traffic Operations Division, in a press release.

– Another major challenge is the issue of safety, partly linked to how we ensure a safe working environment for those who will carry out all the work in the track system – and partly to the issue of unauthorized persons on the tracks. In December, almost two thousand passenger trains were delayed due to unauthorized persons on the tracks, and there were 17 collisions, she continues.

Last year, a total of 1 065 954 trains departed in Sweden – which means that traffic volumes have increased by almost 40% since 2010.

“Situations no one should have to experience”

– We’ll have to wait until all the figures have been double-checked and analyzed, but there are many indications that we have never before had such a high impact on traffic due to unauthorized persons on tracks as in 2024, Ericsson explains.

– Thankfully, not all incidents where warning signals are ignored lead to accidents – but every day drivers are exposed to situations no one should have to experience at work, If I have one wish for 2025, it’s that we find ways to reverse that trend, because every accident is one too many.

She urges the public to remind each other never to cross railroad tracks, slip under downed barriers, or climb on wagons.

– Rail is safe, but as trains are both silent and heavy and can neither stop nor give way, awareness of the risks that do exist needs to be raised.

Editorial Staff
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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/sweden-democrats-leader-stands-firm-on-loyalty-pledge-for-new-citizens/

Sweden

Sweden Democrats leader stands firm on loyalty pledge for new citizens

Published 16 January 2025

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Henrik Nyström/Government Offices of Sweden

The leader of the Sweden Democrats believes that it is up to the parties in the government platform to agree on the issue.

Government investigators have rejected the Sweden Democrats’ proposal that new Swedish citizens should make a declaration of loyalty to the nation, but party leader Jimmie Åkesson intends to continue to push the demand.

– The fact that individual investigators disagree cannot be taken into account to any great extent, he emphasizes.

According to Åkesson, this is a political issue to be negotiated between the parties in the government – and that the investigator’s own opinion is therefore also of minor importance.

– To investigate something in political language means that you want to implement something. I find it incredibly difficult to understand the Swedish investigative or legislative system where political power is given to individuals to say ‘this seems good and this doesn’t seem good’, even though we have had general elections where voters have expressed their views.

Nor does he think it should matter that the opposition, led by the Social Democrats, does not think it necessary for new citizens to declare their loyalty to Sweden.

– Because the issue is so important, the Social Democrats cannot be given a veto. If there is a majority in the Riksdag (Swedish parliament), it is important that we go forward with the proposals that we agree on.

“I think it is reasonable”

Exactly what the declaration of loyalty would look like in practice is unclear, and Åkesson says that it is not his job as an individual politician to formulate it in detail.

– I think it’s reasonable that if you come to Sweden and become a citizen here after a period of time in the country, you have to meet certain requirements, in terms of livelihood, adaptation and other things. But also that they declare that they intend to be loyal to Sweden. This is incredibly important, especially given the current security situation.

Last year, another Swedish politician, Christian Democrat MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe, demanded that anyone wishing to become a Swedish citizen must also first sign some form of declaration of loyalty, in this case not to Sweden but to the State of Israel.

“In order to even obtain Swedish citizenship, it should be required, as in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, that those who wish to become Swedish citizens also recognize the right of the state of Israel to exist and, in addition, intend to embrace the Judeo-Christian values on which Swedish democracy rests”, she argued at the time.

Editorial Staff
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Polaris of Enlightenment

Polaris of Enlightenment