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Sweden to map threats against politicians

Published: 22 Dec 11 10:23 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/38094/20111222/

The full extent of threats and violence directed against Swedish politicians is to be mapped for the first time in what is thought to be the world's largest investigation of its kind.

Swedish politicians are increasingly exposed to violence, threats and harassment, earlier studies have shown.

The full extent of the threats against Swedish politicians is now to be mapped for the first time, as the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet - Brå) starts work on the world's largest investigation of its kind.

All of the roughly 15,000 people in Sweden that hold a clearly defined political office will take part in survey.

"We're conducting a complete investigation of politicians at all levels, municipal, county and national, to see if they're subjected to threats, and how, in their roles as elected officials," Victor Ståhl, investigator at the Council for Crime Prevention, told The Local.

"It's believed that there is an increased threat against this group, but there's plenty of uncertainty in the matter, and that's why this survey needs to be done."

A smaller study, conducted in 2004 by the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), showed that roughly 16 percent of municipal politicians had been exposed to violence and threats, and 20 percent at the county level.

Female politicians are also threatened more often than their male counterparts, the SALAR survey showed.

Democracy minister Birgitta Ohlsson was proud to announce the upcoming survey.

"We need to get a good overview of how common these crimes against elected politicians are, what character the crimes have, and development over time, since they could constitute a threat to our democracy," said Ohlsson in a statement on Thursday.

Brå's first survey will be published in 2013, and will then be followed up once every two years.

TT/Clara Guibourg (news@thelocal.se)

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11:47 December 22, 2011 by Migga
The man in the picture is Fredrick Federley and he is a politician for the Center party. He was attacked by an immigrant gang for not giving them cigarettes. But they didn`t know he was a politican. Only that he was swedish.

The politicans that get`s attacked because they are politicans probably belongs to KD or SD.
12:31 December 22, 2011 by jostein
Good point by Migga. What happened to Fredrick Federley has nothing to do with threats against politicians, it was just a politician getting some of the medicine his party been prescribing to the people for decades.
18:27 December 22, 2011 by abaeterno
if politicians were not self serving and did a genuine good job then why would anyone think of attacking them.
02:00 December 24, 2011 by Britt-Marie7
Immigrant gangs needs to be sent back to their countries, as we shouldn't tolerate violence in the first place. I am sure we have enough of gangs that are Swedish to deal with. We need stricter laws.
08:17 January 6, 2012 by shahislam
Please! There should be no secret, even in national, International, political levels etc. and each bad guy will be caught by the digital signatures left behind, if financial crime protecting old privacy law etc. are modified. Water bomb may replace nuclear bombs and shall we need this type symbolic weapons to fight insurgents in the deserts after globally banning production, selling and use of private guns?

Negativity and brutalities are taken care of by the same things and @ 50% cosmic rule.

Do the current world's International leaders with the mentality of Bangladeshi political leaders have any idea what it is all about?

******** A Prudent US President's wise thoughts and actions for benefiting hard working middle class portion of US public are better than what we may note from out of date political or holibooks.

Just consider: A poor country Bangladesh spends almost half of it's annual national bugget for maintainence of it's Military but what benefit its hard working public gets when that piece of land, "situated in a near future's strategically best and busiest commercial transiting spot", desperately needs dozens of bridges and highways to conveniently connect Southern China and India with its economically profitable Bay of Bengal sea Ports.

Everybody deserves to be get paid for good work and labor but where is the money? How govt. can collect the funds? Letting higher rate govt. Taxes on fuel but make Oil price drop by more sanctions? Of course it's possible!

Secendly, catching greedy businessmen with digital proofs is easy now. Tax evading wealthy filthies all over the world are now at risk, not only kings and prime ministers of oil rich and / or third world countries but every animalistically selfish, too greedy Billionaires and Millionaires who are reaping the fruits of other's hard labors (Unbelieavly, Some hard working labors at this era of awareness even get brutally beheaded in public by the hands of bullying thugs or country heads in the name of God, religions or primitive politics).

However, all type of blood-shed-causing Wars including old-days patriotic, hereditary egoistic, Oil money induced ones etc. are not being considered as great things anymore, unlike past, by the interconnected global new generation that has much better things to do and worried about.
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