Three men appear in court over 'gang rape live streamed on Facebook'
The social media giant is said to be helping Swedish police with their enquiries
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.Three men have been remanded in custody in connection with the alleged gang rape of a woman in Sweden, reportedly live streamed on Facebook.
They were arrested after police were alerted to the on-going attack by witnesses who apparently saw it in a closed Facebook group, according to Swedish press.
Uppsala District Court remanded two of the men, a 20-year-old Afghan national and an 18-year-old, also from Afghanistan, in custody on suspicion of rape.
The third man, reported to be a 24-year-old Swedish citizen, was detained on suspicion of failing to report a rape.
“A woman is said to have been raped in an apartment. He is suspected of that,” said the 20-year-old’s lawyer, Christer Söderberg.
“He denies any criminal offence, and he has given in my opinion a perfectly coherent story about what happened. I cannot go into details, but he has told me in a way that is not contradicted by anything else,” he told Swedish news agency TT.
In Sweden, a person suspected of a serious crime can be detained before trial with the approval of a court if there is a risk that they will abscond, obstruct the investigation or continue to commit crimes.
Investigators are still working to get hold of the footage showing the alleged assault on the woman, said to be in her 30s, although they have obtained stills from some of the film.
One person who reportedly saw the live stream told the tabloid Aftonbladet: “I first thought it was a poorly orchestrated joke.”
Lead prosecutor Pontus Melander said on Wednesday that Facebook has been asked for help in retrieving the video.
“Facebook has said that they want to cooperate, but they are based in the US so we need international legal aid, which I have requested,” Mr Melander told TT.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments