Witness intimidation on the rise at Swedish trials
Published: 29 Jan 12 16:45 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/38790/20120129/
Threats and attempts to scare off both crime victims as well as witnesses of said crimes have become more common in Sweden, and most victims are young.
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Since then, the rising trend has continued.
Last year 5,835 police reports were filed, up almost nine percent from 2010's figure. Roughly half of those reports involve youths between 15 and 25 years old, according to a study conducted by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet - Brå).
"It's a threat against the rule of law," chief prosecutor Jörgen Lindberg of the Swedish Prosecution Authority's development centre in Malmö told news agency TT, commenting on the growing difficulties in convincing people to reveal what they've seen and heard.
According to Brå researcher Johanna Skinnari, attempts to influence witnesses and victims range from violence and threats to more subtle measures, such as wearing a motorcycle gang's vest in the courtroom, or staring aggressively at the witness.
Apart from the clear connection to criminal youths, threats and violence were common in trials of organized crime and relationship violence.
Skinnari warns that general feeling of discomfort in court cases can lead to self-censorship, stopping potential witnesses from participating.
Nearly all threats against witnesses turn out to be empty, and it is exceptionally rare for witnesses to get hurt.
"It's important that we shatter this myth that it's dangerous to testify. Some are just scared because they don't feel at home in the trial process, and are unfamiliar with the language and the environment, said Skinnari to TT.
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They SHOULDN'T but YOU will be when YOU are the minority in your land.
You are a brave soul, but it will be difficult when your own people are the target of violence for being white. That is the bravery that is required to say 'no' to allowing all of these people in, which are quite literally changing the future of your country. Without that, Sweden and the rest of Europe is doomed.
Nothing in the article implies that this is a consequence of multi culturalism.
The increase in the number of threats could easily be a simple consequence of an increasingly spineless justice system in Sweden that does not adequately punish violent crime or threats of violent crime, especially for so-called 'young offenders' in Sweden, for both native Swedes and new Swedes.
An earlier article indicated that you could get a few months in jail for a credible death threat, even as an adult. So it is clearly worth the gamble to issue a death threat to a witness if your fellow gang member is facing a few years in prison for mass murder for example, so that the gang is short of a few months of manpower instead of a few years.