Sweden: Moderate Party calls for terror laws against gang crimes amid rise in gun violence

More than 150 individuals have been slain in over 1,100 shootings in the last four years in Sweden, according to the Moderate Party. With street shootings at an all-time high in the country, the opposition Moderate Party wants to use current anti-terror laws to combat gang activity, according to Sputnik. A total of 36 people have been shot dead in Sweden this summer, forcing the liberal-conservative Moderates to issue a strong statement. 

In his speech in the town of Strängnäs, Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson said that the bloodiest summer in modern Swedish history occurred this year. He added that 36 people have been murdered so far this year, according to the national network SVT. Kristersson promised to put an end to "mollycoddling with criminals," according to Sputnik. He urged authorities to use existing anti-terror laws to prosecute criminal organisations to stop the growing trend of shootings aggravated by gang fights and drug smuggling. He stated that gang members must be apprehended, and criminals will face double penalties. He also warned that anyone involved in a criminal gang who is not a Swedish citizen must be deported. According to the Moderate leader, no youngster should be forced to grow up in a serious criminal environment.

Johan Forsell, a legal spokesman for the Moderates, described the party's new anti-gang measure as "far-reaching." According to Sputnik, the Moderates had stated that there are 5,000 gang members in criminal networks in vulnerable places across Sweden. In addition, the party indicated that there are over 40 criminal clans, some of whom have migrated to Sweden to perpetrate crimes.

Sweden experiences increase in crimes 

Unlike most EU countries, according to Sputnik, Sweden has experienced an increase in violent crime in recent decades, rising to the top in terms of annual fatal shootings. The country's Crime Prevention Council insisted that this was a one-of-a-kind pattern, blaming eight out of ten shootings on criminal environments engaged in drug trafficking and other criminal operations. Erik Nord, the commander of the Greater Gothenburg police district, has admitted a relationship between mass shootings and immigration, stating that everyone who shoots or is shot in gang disputes originates from the Balkans, the Middle East, North or East Africa.

Image: Ulf Kristersson/Facebook, Pixabay