Seven Afghan migrants and one Swedish citizen have been arrested in two separate operations in connection with a case of rape, with one suspect being involved with a migrant integration charity.
The first round of arrests occurred in the middle of May, and were followed in June with several more suspects. All of the suspects are between 20 to 26 years old with most of the suspects residing in Östersund, Sweden, Nyheter Idag reports.
The rape attack or attacks are said to have occurred between the 3rd and 8th of May but police have not shared the full and specific details in the case.
Several details regarding the suspects have come to light, such as one of the men having been convicted twice for assault in 2014 and 2015, while another is said to have worked at the asylum seeker integration charity Hej främling! (“Hi stranger!”) which fired him upon being notified of his arrest.
The charity, which describes itself as bringing together Swedes and asylum seekers for various sporting and outdoor activities to help integrate new arrivals, released a statement on the arrest of the former worker saying: “We have zero tolerance with regard to crime, so we are serious about this.”
Maria Svensson Wiklander, chairman of the group, said they knew the former volunteer had been convicted of a crime before his current arrest, but argued: “Everyone is worth the chance. It is also something we assume in our business, that one should have a second chance to get out of crime and abuse.”
According to a report from Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, the vast majority of those convicted for gang rapes in Sweden are from migrant backgrounds. The report followed another study that reached the same conclusions taken by tabloid Expressen earlier last year.
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