Since the ultrarightist thugs, both 17, took the money the worker had in the ticket booth, cops have labeled the murderous assault a case of "robbery." Chief prosecutor Bo Josephson claims it was not an anti-immigrant attack. One of the skinheads has been found guilty of assault three times within less than a year; as a minor he was sentenced to "community service."

A public meeting was held December 15 outside the Hallonbergen subway station to condemn the assault. The action, called by the Network against Racism and Local 20 of the Service and Communications Union (SEKO), attracted some 100 people, many of them workers and youth who joined the demonstration on their way home. A co-worker of the assaulted worker expressed the sentiment of many of the workers when he told the Militant at the rally, "How can you do such a thing? These people are monsters."  
 
Ultrarightists mobilize
In another case involving skinheads, some 1,000 ultrarightists marched December 16 through Salem, a mainly working-class suburb southwest of here. The killing of a nazi skinhead there the week before was used by the rightists to mobilize for this action.

The skinhead had been confronted by a group of youth and attacked by some of them. Although some of the youth tried to stop the beating, the 17-year-old skinhead received a lethal stab wound. According to police spokesperson Lars Richter, he was "known for belonging to Swedish nazism." An 18-year-old Salem youth accused of the stabbing is in custody and faces a first-degree murder charge.

Protected by the cops, the ultrarightists mobilized in Salem December 16 from around the country. The action was organized by Robert Vesterlund, a notorious nazi.

In 1999 Vesterlund, who worked at a warehouse, was expelled from the union he was a member of, after being pointed out as a nazi by Björn Söderberg, who worked at the same place. Four weeks later, Söderberg was shot and killed in his home by associates of Vesterlund. After one of the largest mobilizations in many years--30,000 people in 20 cities and towns around the country--the thugs were convicted of first-degree murder. The district attorney dismissed accusations that Vesterlund had ordered the murder.

Reporting on the rightist protest, the daily Expressen stated, "Although the nazis had not applied for permission for the demonstration, the police closed off several streets for Vesterlund so he could carry out the three-hour meeting. Police also shoved media away from the meeting when the nazis aggressively demanded it." The cop official in charge said he regarded the meeting as a "public gathering."

Several other notorious Swedish nazis participated in the rightist action. Among them were Pierre Ljunggren, sentenced in 1995 for the murder of Ivory Coast immigrant Patrick Nadji in Klippan. According to Aftonbladet, Erik Hägglund, another well-known nazi, declared, "This is the biggest national demonstration ever!" Representatives of the Sweden Democrats, a fascist party, were also present.

The mobilization was preceded by a campaign in the big-business media decrying "violence," which the rightists used to portray themselves as victims. Dagens Nyheter quoted a cousin of the skinhead who was killed who claimed he used to be "harassed by an immigrant gang" when he was younger.

Local capitalist politicians sought to prevent counterprotests, distributing leaflets in four languages urging people not to disturb the ultraright marchers.

Daniel Ahl is a member of the Industrial Union in Stockholm. Dag Tirsén contributed to this article.  
 
 
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