Swedish news is sometimes hard to come by. Lundagard’s international edition gives you a short summary of local and regional news every week.
Controversial artist Dan Park is being put on trial for hate speech involving his distribution of posters across Malmö and lund depicting Jallow Mamodou, a representative for the Afro-Swedish Society, in a noose with the words “Our negro has run away” written in Swedish. Dan Park has also been charged for a similar incident where he threw a bottle of Cyclon B (the chemical once used by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust) in front of a synagogue. The act of a hate crime in Sweden can lead to up to two years of jailtime.
In the meantime, charges against Hallands Nation for the “slave auction” that happened last spring have been dropped. The prosecution explains that the intentions of the boys in question were too unclear. “It was essentially just a masquerade, and that is all we can take into consideration,” according to prosecutor Mathias Larsson. Having been on the case of the slave auction scandal from the very beginning after a roaring start by former editor Gustaf Eriksson, Lundagård has now interviewed Mamodou, who first sent in the police report. Mamodou is surprised that the charges have been dropped. “This implies that the [Swedish] justice system says that it is okay to discriminate against black people in this country,” argues Mamodou. ”This is an outrageous scandal unlike anything seen before.”
Sony Ericsson will sell its production of mobile phones to Japanese Sony for 1.05 million Euro. Sony Ericsson’s phone production has a history that dates back to the late 19th century and currently has its Swedish headquarters in Lund. From this point forward, the company will focus on selling consumer electronics. The former mobile phone giant explains that most simple-model cell phones are being traded for more the more feature-rich smart phones.
Håkan Juholt, leader of Sweden’s Social Democratic Worker’s Party, made a misstep while questioning Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. According to his press secretary, he used false sources when claiming that “the total number of welfare recipients in our country has reached its highest point for the past 35 years.” Juholt has also been under hard scrutiny after he, according to the media, had misused Swedish welfare laws to his own favor.
One tenth of forest species in Sweden are endangered including animal, plant, and mushroom species altogether. In the long run, about 5,000 species are in danger of reaching the same status according to the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
