STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday charged a 42-year-old man with sending death threats and an unidentified white powder to 21 cabinet ministers, including the prime minister.
In August last year, the suspect sent an envelope containing the white powder and a letter saying "you will soon be dead" to each minister’s home address, including Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lovin and Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist, prosecutors said in a charge sheet.
"These crimes are aggravated because the threats were exacerbated by the powder in each letter which appeared to be poisonous or explosive," prosecutor Eva Wintzell said in a statement.
Analysis of the powder concluded it was harmless. The man, who has been held in police custody since May, denies the charges. "These threats against elected officials are particularly serious as they pose a threat to democracy," Wintzell said, adding the suspect risks "several years" in prison if found guilty.
Sweden is one of the world’s most transparent nations, where income tax information, home addresses and telephone numbers can easily be accessed online. Elected officials can often be seen out in public running errands and going about their daily lives, sometimes without security.
Sweden’s former foreign minister Anna Lindh died in 2003 after she was stabbed in broad daylight at a Stockholm department store without a bodyguard present.
Environmental considerations are also taking priority with many listers seizing opportunities in sectors with rapid...
Oil and gas rich country has erected several monuments, buildings and statues in honour of national heroes
Hibatullah Akhundzada gave a speech in front of the 34 provincial governors on Thursday at the Interior Ministry, the...
Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is in power in the Delhi region and in the northern state of Punjab
Belgorod has been repeatedly targeted by deadly artillery and drone strikes that Moscow blames on Kyiv
“One Afghan and three foreign nationals were killed,” in gunfire on Friday evening in Bamiyan city