Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Swedish police accused of covering up sexual assaults at music festival

Spokesman confirms 'large number' of sex attacks at 'We are Sthlm' festival in Stockholm but denies cover-up

Monday 11 January 2016 09:39 EST
Comments
Police hadn't mentioned the August incidents until a newspaper reported on them this weekend
Police hadn't mentioned the August incidents until a newspaper reported on them this weekend (AFP/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Swedish police have confirmed that there were widespread sexual assaults at a music festival in Stockholm last summer but denied allegations of a cover-up.

Police hadn't mentioned the August incidents at the "We are Sthlm" festival until newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported on them this weekend following the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve in Germany.

Stockholm police spokesman Varg Gyllander confirmed to AP on that there was "a large number" of sexual assaults and that scores of men were detained.

He denied a cover-up but said police should have reported on the incidents at the time "given the nature of the crime."

Gyllander couldn't confirm Dagens Nyheter's report that most suspects were from Afghanistan, but said "this involves young men who are not from Sweden."

Associated Press

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in