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As freedom of speech and freedom of association are guaranteed under the Swedish Constitution, it is never illegal to be a member of any organisation. Individuals are however not allowed to commit offences to advance political opinions. The Security Service´s work in this area relates to the offences committed by the White Power scene and the autonomous scene.
The most frequently committed offences by these two scenes are:
Agitation against an ethnic group is a common White Power offence, and is defined in the Penal Code as follows:
Examples include the perpetrator shouting “Sieg heil", making a Nazi salute or using a Nazi symbol, such as a swastika.
In a legal context, hate crime is not a crime category in itself. The concept is used for racist, xenophobic and homophobic crime.
Under the Penal Code, if a motive for the crime was to aggrieve a person by reason of colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief or sexual orientation, this will constitute an aggravating circumstance and result in a more severe penalty than would have been the case if the crime was committed without such a motive.
- unlawful threat,
- harassment,
- assault,
- violent riot,
- wilful damage, and
- graffiti.
Agitation against an ethnic group
Agitation against an ethnic group is a common White Power offence, and is defined in the Penal Code as follows:
“A person who, in a disseminated statement or communication, threatens or expresses contempt for a national, ethnic or other such group of persons with allusion to race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief or sexual orientation, shall be sentenced for agitation against a national or ethnic group to imprisonment for at most two years or, if the crime is petty, to a fine."
Examples include the perpetrator shouting “Sieg heil", making a Nazi salute or using a Nazi symbol, such as a swastika.
Hate crime
In a legal context, hate crime is not a crime category in itself. The concept is used for racist, xenophobic and homophobic crime.
Under the Penal Code, if a motive for the crime was to aggrieve a person by reason of colour, national or ethnic origin, religious belief or sexual orientation, this will constitute an aggravating circumstance and result in a more severe penalty than would have been the case if the crime was committed without such a motive.
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