STOCKHOLM (AP) – Swedish police on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people gathered in central Stockholm to crack down on the Swedish government’s coronavirus restrictions.
Swedish authorities said the protest – the first major protest against the country’s coronavirus restrictions – was illegal as it was held without permission.
Stockholm police said on their website that they had decided to shorten the event just after it started when the number of participants exceeded the limits for public events under Sweden’s pandemic laws.
The video recordings in the Swedish media showed a significant number without masks gathering on Medborgarplatsen Square, not far from the capital city. According to local media, 300 to 500 people attended.
The Swedish tabloid newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen reported that the protest was largely peaceful, but six police officers were injured after quarrels broke out with a number of protesters who did not want to leave.
Aftonbladet said the rally was organized by a group called Freedom Sweden, which they believe believes COVID-19 rules restrict human freedom.
“There are so many people in Sweden who have had enough of these restrictions, who are really unfounded, and want to put their foot down and show that we no longer agree to it,” said Filip Sjostrom, an organizer of Freedom Sweden. told Expressen.
According to Expressen, the protesters include far-right activists, people against vaccinations and some families with children.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Sweden, unlike most other European countries, decided to keep its society largely open with few restrictions, but the government has tightened considerably over the past few months.
Sweden has seen more than 13,000 deaths in the pandemic, while the Nordic neighbors Denmark, Norway and Finland, which much earlier opted to impose coronavirus restrictions, have a combined COVID-19 death toll of 3,777.
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