Copenhagen, Oct 30, (dpa/GNA) – A Swedish court on Thursday sentenced a man to three years in prison, for driving into a pro-Palestinian demonstration, and for spreading hateful social media posts.
The man also has to pay a total of 1.8 million Swedish kronor ($190,800) in damages to 36 victims.
In August 2024, the man drove into a demonstration march of more than 80 participants in the pedestrian zone of the city of BorĂĄs. The protesters were demonstrating in support of Palestinians amid the Gaza war.
The court in BorĂĄs convicted the man, who was 69 at the time, of attempted grievous bodily harm, as well as incitement to hatred because of his posts on social media.
It concluded that his driving was deliberate and reckless, and could have hit and injured many demonstrators. It also deemed his motive to be at least, partly based on the Palestinian roots of some of the participants.
The defendant’s age was considered a mitigating factor, however. He denied criminal responsibility and said, he had accidentally ended up in the pedestrian zone with his car.
The court believed this, but said he had deliberately driven towards the demonstration, once he had realized its purpose.
After driving into the crowd, it said he also reversed several times towards the demonstrators. Two people were hit by the car, but no one was seriously injured.
GNA