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Swedish police impose stop-and-search zone on embassy district

Richard Orange
Richard Orange - richard.orange@thelocal.com
Swedish police impose stop-and-search zone on embassy district
The security zone has been imposed on the embassy cluster in Djurgården in Stockholm. Photo: Police

Stockholm police have imposed a security zone on the Stockholm district around the US and Israeli embassies, citing an increased security threat in the wake of the two countries' joint attack on Iran.

The police said they were imposing the zone – called a säkerhetszon in Swedish – to allow police to stop and search cars and individuals without suspicion and so combat the "increased threat situation" caused by the the conflict launched on February 28th. 

"The ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East between, above all, Iran, the USA and Israel, is not limited by geography," the police wrote in a press statement. "The conflict has also had repercussions in other areas where Israeli, Jewish and American interests are present." 

Swedish police judge there is "a significant risk of serious crime, including shootings and explosions" in Diplomatstaden (Diplomat town), which is home to both the Israeli and American embassies.

The police told the TT newswire that the security zone would start to apply at 3pm on Tuesday and would remain in place until April 7th. 

Police will increase their presence in the area and carry out a higher number of preventive checks, even on people they have no reason to suspect of any crime.

Sweden's police have used the possibility of imposing security zones sparingly since parliament voted to allow the controversial tool in 2024.

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