Swede jailed for desertion despite end of conscription

A 20-year-old Swedish conscript has been convicted for desertion, even though compulsory military service ended in Sweden three months ago.

• Sweden to blast fresh blood into space (11 Feb 12)
• Bones and guts in military 'horror dungeon' (8 Feb 12)
• Man performed surgery on his own dog (8 Feb 12)

The man, who hails from Halland in western Sweden, dropped out of his mandatory military service last winter after serving for just a few days, the Hallandsposten newspaper reports.

The man was among the last crop of Swedes forced into service under the country’s conscription laws, which officially came to an end on June 1st, ending more than a century of compulsory military service in Sweden.

The centre-right government decided last year to end military service, which on average had lasted about 11 months, and move toward a professional military.

But life as a soldier, professional or otherwise, didn’t sit well with the 20-year-old Halland native.

According to the newspaper, the man quit the military because the setting reminded him of the death of a close relative, causing him to become depressed.

But the district court in Halmstad wasn’t sympathetic to the man’s reasons for deserting, sentencing him to two weeks in prison, despite pleas by the man’s attorney that the court refrain from handing out any punishment in the case.