Sweden: Man Sentenced for ‘Offensive Placard’

A man who displayed a placard accusing immigrants of http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=902 has been convicted of agitation against an ethnic group.

During a March 2007 rally organized in the south west coast town of Ängelholm by SSU, the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party, the man was seen holding a sign reading, “While Swedish girls are being group raped by immigrant gangs the SSU is fighting http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=1010.”

The man was arrested and eventually indicted on http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2497 of agitation against an ethnic group, according to the Helsingborgs Dagblad newspaper.

During his trial, the man claimed he simply wanted to point out the absurdity of holding a demonstration against racism and hoped the sign would spark debate. He asserted he was simply expressing an opinion, which is a right afforded to him under the European Convention on Human Rights.

But District Prosecutor Lars Danielsson disagreed, arguing that the man “http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3257 for a group of people with reference to their national or ethnic background.”The court agreed with Danielsson, fining the man 4000 kronor ($650).

In its decision, the court found the placard made gross generalizations that immigrants are inclined to rape Swedish girls, which falls under the legal definition of disrespect.

http://www.thelocal.se/10440/

2008-03-14