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Polaris of Enlightenment

Friday, January 17, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/wood-industry-tycoon-sues-swedish-state-the-only-way-to-get-justice/

Sweden

Wood industry tycoon sues Swedish state: “The only way to get justice”

Published 18 October 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Karl Hedin was acquitted of all charges in both trials.
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Swedish wood industry tycoon Karl Hedin sues the Swedish state, claiming he was illegally wiretapped in connection with a high-profile hunting crime case in which he was later completely exonerated.

Leif GW Persson, a well-known Swedish criminologist, supports Hedin and believes that he was subjected to a “gross abuse of justice” and emphasizes that “it must not be allowed happen like this”.

In 2018, Hedin was arrested at his home by a heavily armed police task force and later charged with multiple offenses, including aggravated hunting crimes and other allegations related to illegal wolf hunting. Among the accusations was that he supplied poison to others to kill wolves, a predator he has long criticized, referring to them as “vermin”.

However, he was completely acquitted in both the district court and the court of appeal, and now he is demanding compensation for the violations he believes he has suffered.

– The money doesn’t matter at all to Karl Hedin. But this is the only way for him to get any form of justice, his lawyer Klas Bjuremark tells TT.

Hedin highlights, among other things, how he was subjected to illegal phone tapping, that several of his phone calls were misrepresented in court and that he was detained without reason.

Denied damages by the Supreme Court

Earlier this year he unsuccessfully approached the Chancellor of Justice with a claim for damages of SEK 8.3 million – but this was rejected. Instead, he was awarded SEK 31,000 in compensation.

– In summary, there are good reasons to claim that the police and prosecutors have subjected Karl Hedin to a gross miscarriage of justice. It must not be allowed to happen like this, comments Leif GW Persson in Telia-owned TV4.

– I can’t for the life of me understand what the task force had to do there. If he had punched someone in the face, he would have received a summons by phone or letter, he exclaims further.

Karl Hedin has consistently denied that he has engaged in any form of illegal wolf hunting.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Karl Hedin is a prominent Swedish businessman and entrepreneur, best known as the owner of AB Karl Hedin, a major company in the forestry, timber, and construction materials industries. Over the years, he has built a successful career in the wood products sector, with his company operating sawmills, producing building materials, and managing extensive forest holdings. He is a controversial figure in Sweden, known for his outspoken opposition to wildlife and environmental protection policies, which he argues are biased against rural communities.

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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 yesterday 18:24
– By Editorial Staff
The leader of the Sweden Democrats believes that it is up to the parties in the government platform to agree on the issue.
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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
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/sweden-begins-construction-on-first-ever-final-nuclear-waste-repository/

Sweden

Sweden begins construction on first-ever final nuclear waste repository

Published yesterday 12:41
– By Editorial Staff
The construction itself is estimated to cost around €1 billion.
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Yesterday, construction began on Sweden’s first final repository for spent nuclear fuel at the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Östhammar municipality. The facility, which will be one of the first of its kind globally, will store nuclear fuel waste for up to 100,000 years.

Minister for Climate and Environment Romina Pourmokhtari (L) attended the groundbreaking ceremony and described the event as “historic” and emphasized the importance of the project for both Sweden and the world:

– A very important milestone. Not only for Sweden and in our nuclear history but also to set the image for the rest of the world, that we have actually researched this method and now started to apply it as well.

Sweden currently has six active nuclear reactors that together produce between 90 and 150 tons of spent nuclear fuel annually. This waste is currently stored in Oskarshamn, but will eventually be moved to the final repository in Forsmark. When the repository is sealed in 2090, it is estimated to hold about 12,000 tons of nuclear fuel waste, encapsulated in copper and surrounded by bentonite clay, placed 500 meters below the ground surface.

However, the Environmental NGOs’ Nuclear Waste Review (MKG) expresses some concern about the chosen method of copper encapsulation and the uncertainty of future nuclear technologies.

– We don’t know what the reactors of the future will look like and this may possibly lead to different conditions for how the waste needs to be disposed of, points out Linda Birkedal, chair of MKG.

“Safe method”

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), which is responsible for the project, assures that the method is not associated with any risks.

– We have a safe method. But on the other hand, there is currently no plan for what new types of facilities will be built, SKB’s head of communications Anna Porelius told state television SVT.

If the government’s plans to expand nuclear power are realized, additional final storage capacity may be necessary. Carl Berglöf, nuclear power coordinator, says that an expansion of the existing final repository in Forsmark would be most cost-effective, but that legal obstacles may make it necessary to consider new sites. The issue will be further investigated in 2025.

The construction of the final repository in Forsmark, led by SKB, is estimated to cost SEK 12 billion (€1 billion). The total cost of Sweden’s nuclear waste program is estimated at around SEK 171 billion (€15 billion).

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-mep-wants-to-defeat-the-kremlin/

Sweden

Swedish MEP wants to “defeat” the Kremlin

The new cold war

Published yesterday 8:52
– By Editorial Staff
Emma Wiesner is one of many Swedish leaders who have recently started using increasingly aggressive rhetoric.
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In a short period of time, the rhetoric of Swedish leaders has become increasingly belligerent and aggressive, while diplomacy and dialogue are rarely put forward as a viable option.

Emma Wiesner, MEP for the Center Party, is one of those accused of fueling the conflict, openly posting on social media about how “we” should “defeat” the Kremlin.

The fact that Swedish politicians’ attitude towards Russia has become even more hostile in recent months was made abundantly clear at Folk och Försvar’s national conference in Sälen this past weekend. At the conference, Ulf Kristersson declared that Sweden is certainly not currently at war – but emphasized that “there is no peace either”.

The Swedish Minister of Defense, Pål Jonson, gave a similar message, declaring that supporting Kiev in the war was no longer a “choice” – but a “duty”.

– This is a war with profound global consequences that further weakens the rules-based world order… We must assume that Russia will pose a very serious threat to us and our allies for the foreseeable future, he said.

Emma Wiesner of the Center Party is one of those who has joined the war rhetoric and believes that the Russian leadership must be defeated.

“It is completely unreasonable that Russian ships transporting Putin’s gas through the Arctic are given maintenance in EU ports. It is high time to extend sanctions to Russian LNG – we cannot defeat the Kremlin regime until we cut off the flow of money to the war chest”, she writes on X.

“Ukraine’s cause is ours”

However, it is not clear how and at what cost the Kremlin will be defeated or what role Sweden will play in this, and critics point out that sanctions against Russia have so far not produced the desired results.

“You seem angry, but it won’t help you ‘defeat the regime in the Kremlin’, the only thing that can happen with your advice is that we dig ourselves even deeper into economic misery in Europe. But of course, as an MEP, you’re not exactly in the same boat as the rest of us”, commented one annoyed user.

Wiesner has previously declared that “Ukraine’s cause is ours” and that a Russian victory on the battlefield cannot be accepted under any circumstances as it would lead to a “fundamentally different Europe” than today.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-center-party-official-facing-child-sexual-misconduct-charges/

Sweden

Swedish Center Party official facing child sexual misconduct charges

Published 15 January 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Gustav Hemming was one of the Center Party's most prominent figures in Stockholm before the scandal.
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In December, Gustav Hemming, the regional councilor of the Center Party in Stockholm, resigned after it was discovered that he had masturbated in front of a 13-year-old boy on a train.

Now the Swedish Prosecution Authority confirms that Mr. Hemming has been officially charged with sexual abuse of a child and faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

– The investigation is proceeding with the usual investigative measures such as witness interviews. Due to the confidentiality of the investigation, I cannot provide any further information at this time, says prosecutor Rebecca Rehnström, who is leading the investigation. She also does not want to give any forecast for when the investigation is expected to be completed.

The prosecutor has found no reason to detain Hemming, and although imprisonment is in the penalty scale, analysts believe that it is likely that the former C-top will get away with a fine or suspended sentence.

The suspect’s position on the charges is unclear, and since being forced to resign he has kept a very low profile.

May receive millions

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted the case and how Hemming, after the abuse was discovered, was very quick to apply for preferential compensation from the fees board, which some high-ranking politicians who have been in office for a long time are entitled to.

If approved, more than SEK 15 million (€1.3 million) – or more than SEK 90,000 (€7800) a month of taxpayers’ money – will be paid to the Center Party politician.

This quickly sparked a public outcry, with many expressing the view that authorities who abuse children or commit other serious crimes should receive no compensation whatsoever – but instead face much harsher penalties than they do today.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com