Facing hate and intimidation

The number of hate crimes reported in Sweden remains high, as does the number of those that go unreported. Despite the high number of cases, only a few lead to prosecution or conviction. We work to combat threats and hate crimes against Sweden’s national minority groups.

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Latest

Lack of protection against hate crimes, discrimination, and for indigenous rights – our shadow report to the UN

  • News, Sweden
  • 8 November 2024

In the spring of 2025, the UN will review how Sweden respects human rights. Ahead of the review by t…
Polisbilstak med blåljus

Statement on Rasmus Paludan’s latest Qur’an burning in Sweden 

  • Statements, Sweden
  • 1 February 2023

Lately, Quran burnings has received renewed attention after Rasmus Paladan, leader of the far right …

“Human rights need to be strengthened in Sweden as well”

  • News, Sweden
  • 21 December 2022

In 2016, we launched the Gerald Nagler Human Rights Traineeship for lawyers at the beginning of thei…

Civil Rights Defenders report far-right extremist Rasmus Paludan to police

  • News, Sweden
  • 29 June 2022

In the spring of 2022, Rasmus Paludan, leader of the far-right and anti-Muslim party Stram Kurs, tra…
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Police reports against Paludan for incitement against hatred

In 2022, Civil Rights Defenders filed a report against Rasmus Paludan, leader of the far-right and anti-Muslim party Stram Kurs, to the Swedish police for incitement to racial hatred. We argue that he committed hate speech while travelling across Sweden and burning the Qur’an in several cities. A total of four reports were filed with the police hate crime units in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.

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Police report against the Nordic Resistance Movement

Civil Rights Defenders reported several leading members of the neo-Nazi organisation Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) following a demonstration in Gothenburg in 2017. Sweden has an obligation to effectively combat hate crimes and racism, including by not allowing activities that spread racist propaganda. For this reason, we filed these hate crime reports to the Swedish police.

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Many Roma EU Migrants Experience Hate Crimes but few are reported

Abuse and violations against vulnerable EU citizens of Roma descent in Malmö are a recurring problem. In the few cases where victims report these violations, investigations are slow. We have developed training materials, brochures, information, and a multilingual checklist for reporting hate crimes. Civil Rights Defenders, together with Skåne Stadsmission, provide several recommendations to the government, municipalities, and the police.

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Legal Advice

We offer free information and legal advice on how you can exercise your rights.

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Workshops for The Swedish Police Authority

To strengthen the work against hate crimes, we are conducting workshops for The Swedish Police Authority.

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