A 43-year-old man from the activist group Rojavakommittéerna is to face trial over the incident, news wire TT reports.
He has also been charged for leaving a doll with red face paint and a knife in its hand outside the home of Aid and Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa.
The two incidents, which both occurred in January, gained public attention after the group published photos of the actions on social media.
According to the group’s posts, the actions were taken in protest at what it described as support by the Swedish government for the new government in Syria, which has its roots in an Islamist militant group which opposed former dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Forssell and Dousa became the first Swedish ministers to visit Syria since Assad was ousted when they travelled to Damascus in November last year.
Prosecutor Carl Mellberg said the actions crossed the legal threshold for permitted protest, while one of the incidents can additionally be considered an aggravated threat, TT reports.
The 43-year-old was arrested by Säpo, the Swedish Security Service, the night after the incident at Dousa’s house and was charged three days later, according to the news wire. He has remained in police detention since his arrest.
The trial begins on Thursday afternoon at Solna District Court. Both Forssell and Dousa are expected to testify, along with one witness and the 43-year-old defendant. The man admits to the sequence of events but denies committing a crime, according to the charges against him.
Comments