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CRIME

Man, 23, wakes up after Stockholm metro ‘attack’

A 23-year-old man left fighting for his life after he was allegedly pushed in front of a train at Stockholm's central underground station is on the road to recovery, the prosecutor heading the investigation has confirmed.

Man, 23, wakes up after Stockholm metro 'attack'
File photo of Stockholm's T-centralen station. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

The man suffered a punctured lung and several fractures, including to his skull, when he fell onto the tracks and was hit by a train at Stockholm's T-centralen metro station on May 31st.

His girlfriend, who witnessed the incident, told police at the time that he had been pushed by another man in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack.

On Monday prosecutor Carl Mellberg confirmed that the 23-year-old had come out of an induced coma.

The Aftonbladet newspaper reported that he had written a message on his Facebook page to thank his friends for their support, saying that he was now facing a period of rehabilitation.

An unnamed relative told the tabloid: “It is true, we're so happy. It's been a difficult period and this means so much. But he's got a difficult process ahead of him, which includes taking in everything that has happened.”

A 34-year-old suspect caught after police released CCTV images from the underground station remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder. His lawyer has previously told Swedish media that he suffers from mental health problems and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

He is understood to have declined to comment on the allegations when questioned by police, but is expected to be charged by Friday.

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.

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. 

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