The trial against the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) – here is what has happened so far
Update 2020-11-02:
The trial against 15 people connected to the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR), a Swedish Nazi organisation, begins today in the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden in Gothenburg. They stand accused of agitation against ethnic minority groups following their participation in a Nazi protest held in Gothenburg 2017.
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Original text from 2019-09-24:
Today, the trial begins in the case against the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR), a Swedish Nazi organisation. 17 Nazis are on trial, 16 of them stand accused of illegal agitation against ethnic minority groups. The charges are largely based on a police report filed by Civil Rights Defenders. Here is what has happened so far:
7 September 2017
The Nazi organisation Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) is given permission to demonstrate during the Gothenburg Book Fair.
NMR plans to march past the Gothenburg Synagogue during the ongoing celebration of Yom Kippur, an important Jewish holiday.
15 September 2017
Civil Rights Defenders appeals the demonstration permit. The Administrative Court decides to change and shorten the route of the march.
30 September 2017
About 500 people demonstrate with NMR.
They wear uniform-like clothes, shields, and flags bearing the symbol of the NMR movement (Tyrrunan), which was also used in Germany by the Nazis in the 1930s.
They chant Nazi slogans and carry posters with pictures of well-known Swedes, many of them of Jewish descent, labelling them as “criminals”.
About 35 people are taken into custody by the police under suspicion of violent riot, among other crimes.
12 October 2017
Civil Rights Defenders files a police report against several high-ranking NMR members. The report argues that NMR engaged in hate speech during the march. It particularly argues that contemporary forms of Nazi hate speech should be considered agitation against ethnic minority groups.
4 October 2018
17 people who participated in the NMR demonstration are prosecuted. 16 are charged with agitation against ethnic minority groups. In the lawsuit, the prosecutor pursues Civil Rights Defenders’ line of reasoning.
24 September 2019
The trial begins in the Gothenburg District Court.
25 oktober 2019
All Nazis charged with agitation against ethnic minority groups are freed by the Gothenburg District Court.
15 november 2019
The prosecutor appeals the court’s decision.
2 november 2020
The trail begins in the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden.
