Apples painted with Adolf Hitler's face were left outside Johan Forssell's home, and outside Benjamin Dousa's home a doll was placed holding a pretend knife in one hand and a red-painted doll's head in the other.
The events in January received widespread attention after the Rojava Committees published images of the actions on social media. According to the posts, it was a protest against government aid to Syria, which the posts said has been ruled by the Islamist HTS since the fall of the Assad regime.
According to prosecutor Carl Mellberg, the actions went beyond what is permitted and constitute illegal or grossly illegal threats.
The night after the action outside Benjamin Dousa's home, the 43-year-old suspect was arrested and remanded in custody three days later. He has been in custody ever since.
“Very well placed”
During the trial held in the security room of Stockholm District Court on Thursday, Johan Forssell said that he and his wife discovered the apples outside their home after they had been out shopping.
It's a basket of apples with drawings of Adolf Hitler. You're really shocked when you see it.
The couple's children were alone in the house at the time, he said, and he wondered if someone had broken into the home.
So yes, there is discomfort there, but also fear.
Benjamin Dousa said that he was alerted to the doll by an upset neighbour, and that he initially worried that a violent group might be behind it.
"When I spoke to the Security Service and to Johan Forssell, I understood that it was the Rojava Committee. Then things calmed down," he said.
Denies crime
What remained worrying was that it was done outside his home, where he otherwise felt safe.
"We are trying to get the addresses removed from the internet," Dousa said.
The man admits he carried out the actions but denies they were criminal.
"NN (the 43-year-old) has carried out acts that we believe are symbolic actions aimed at drawing attention to the fact that Swedish aid may be going to HTS in Syria. It is the defense's view that the actions are covered by freedom of expression and demonstration," his lawyer Silas Aliki said in court.
The man was unmasked, wore a high-visibility vest and gave an interview after the action - which you don't do if you think you are committing a crime, Aliki said.
