A large number of Swedish youths traveled to Denmark during the spring and summer to commit serious violent crimes on behalf of criminals.
Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (S) described them as child soldiers – and the tone towards the northern neighbor was sometimes harsh when he, among other things, urged Sweden to "clean up its mess" after several crimes in a short period of time.
On Friday, the first trial in Sweden related to the Danish wave of violence begins, where two 16-year-olds are charged with preparation and accessory to preparation for murder.
Contact on Signal
The investigation shows that one of the boys was contacted on Signal by an unidentified person calling himself "Gerilla Monkey". The person asks him to find someone who can perform a job – a violent crime – in Denmark.
The 16-year-old does not know for sure why he was contacted, he claims.
Someone probably tipped him off and said I can do that, but I don't want to, he says later in the police interrogation.
The 16-year-old writes to several other people and tries to get them to take on the assignment. He forwards the message from "Gerilla Monkey" about the promise of 150,000 kronor per murder.
"150 per head. Free food, free accommodation", he writes to one person.
I just wanted someone else to take over so I didn't have to do it, he says in the police interrogation.
The Police are Alerted
When he realizes it's not going to work, he goes home to his father, where he breaks down. He explains to his father that he has to "do something", and that they might otherwise get hurt.
He said I should stay home, but I said "no, what if someone comes here then", says the 16-year-old in the interrogation.
The boy heads to the central station in Stockholm, where he is supposed to take the train to Malmö and then travel on to Copenhagen according to the instructions from "Gerilla Monkey". But his father calls a friend who in turn alerts the police. The boy can then be arrested before he boards the train.
He is now charged with preparation for murder, along with the other boy who is suspected of accessory to preparation for murder.
Both deny the crime, although the main suspect admits to parts of the sequence of events.
"He has admitted to certain circumstances, but denies responsibility since he was under threat and therefore did not act with free will", writes his defense attorney Filippa Hjortzberg de Champs in a comment to TT.
Three people will be brought before the court on Friday at Södertörn District Court for the murder plans in Copenhagen last summer. Two 16-year-olds are charged with preparation for murder and accessory to preparation for murder, respectively, while the prosecutor has brought a so-called witness case against a 14-year-old girl.
One of the 16-year-olds has, according to the indictment, "together and in agreement with other unknown persons" taken on a murder assignment in Denmark. He is also charged with incitement to murder, as he allegedly tried to persuade other people to take on the assignment instead.
The other 16-year-old is said to have assisted, according to the indictment, including paying for a train ticket to Malmö and transporting a bag with a change of clothes for the murder assignment.
The girl is said to have sent money to the main suspect, the 16-year-old. She is also said to have planned to travel to Malmö with him to continue on to Copenhagen where the murder was to be committed.
