Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Convicted murderer escapes in Stockholm

Police have issued a nationwide alert following the escape of a convicted murderer from two guardians during a temporary release in central Stockholm on Wednesday.

Published: 5 December 2008 07:07 CET

The 33-year-old man is serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted on charges of murder and attempted murder, the Expressen newspaper reports.

According to the paper, the convict and his two guardians were preparing for their return trip to prison shortly after running an errand at Hötorget when the 33-year-old ran away from his guardians.

The man, who has been in prison since 1999 and would have been eligible for parole next July, had been out on supervised temporary release eight times previously without incident.

“During those he’s handled himself without any problems, so this was completely unexpected,” said Anders Ekström of the prison in Norrtälje north of Stochkholm where the man is serving his sentence.

A national alert was issued on Wednesday afternoon around 4:00pm, and since then police have not received any more information about the man’s whereabouts.

But according to Stockholm police spokesperson Roger Kämpe, the escaped murdered is not considered dangerous.

CRIME

Nordic justice ministers meet tech giants on gangs using apps to hire ‘child soldiers’

The justice ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Norway are to meet representatives of the tech giants Google, Meta, Snapchat and TikTok, to discuss how to stop their platforms being used by gang criminals in the region.

Published: 20 September 2024 10:31 CEST
Nordic justice ministers meet tech giants on gangs using apps to hire 'child soldiers'

Denmark’s justice minister, Peter Hummelgaard, said in a press release that he hoped to use the meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss how to stop social media and messaging apps being used by gang criminals, who Danish police revealed earlier this year were using them to recruit so-called “child soldiers” to carry out gang killings.  

“We have seen many examples of how the gangs are using social media and encrypted messaging services to plan serious crimes and recruit very young people to do their dirty work,” Hummelgaard said. “My Nordic colleagues and I agree that a common front is needed to get a grip on this problem.”

As well as recruitment, lists have been found spreading on social media detailing the payments on offer for various criminal services.   

Hummelgaard said he would “insist that the tech giants live up to their responsibilities so that their platforms do not act as hotbeds for serious crimes” at the meeting, which will take place at a summit of Nordic justice ministers in Uppsala, Sweden.

In August, Hummelgaard held a meeting in Copenhagen with Sweden’s justice minister, Gunnar Strömmer, at which the two agreed to work harder to tackle cross-border organised crime, which has seen a series of Swedish youth arrested in Denmark after being recruited to carry out hits in the country. 

According to a press release from the Swedish justice ministry, the morning will be spent discussing how to combat the criminal economy and particularly organised crime in ports, with a press release from Finland’s justice ministry adding that the discussion would also touch on the “undue influence on judicial authorities” from organised crime groups. 

The day will end with a round table discussion with Ronald S Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, on how anti-Semitism and hate crimes against Jews can be prevented and fought in the Nordic region. 

SHOW COMMENTS