Ulf Kristersson rages against Al-Jazeera's documentary about Sweden

Published 11 November 2024 at 07.59

Domestic. A new documentary series from the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera accuses Swedish authorities of forcibly taking children into custody on unclear grounds – something that is causing concern among Swedish politicians.

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Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson considers the situation to be serious.

– Partly because it risks creating a threat to Sweden, but also because in the long run there is a risk that children will not get the help they need, he tells SVT Nyheter.

The documentary series has certain similarities with the message in the earlier so-called LVU campaign, which spread information that Swedish authorities are kidnapping Muslim children. This campaign contributed to raising the terror threat level in Sweden about a year ago. This summer, however, Säpo announced that Sweden was no longer an equally designated target in violent Islamist propaganda.

Kristersson emphasizes that it is up to Säpo to decide whether the content of the documentary can change that assessment. He emphasizes, however, that Sweden does not kidnap children.

– We have legislation that protects those children, he says and explains that the Social Services Act only comes into force when children are at risk of harm.

The Prime Minister also warns that reporting on Sweden of this kind can contribute to the threat to the country is increasing.

– This kind of thing can contribute to amplifying the threat. There are always individuals who can bring themselves to do very serious things if they believe that Sweden is doing what is portrayed in the documentary, says Kristersson to SVT.

Kristersson emphasizes that the documentary does not only focus on Muslim children, but shows children from different backgrounds. He points out that Sweden remains clear in its communication that “disinformation” is pointless.

– This could be a new effort from people who want to push disinformation against Sweden. But there we are clear that it is completely pointless.

The terror threat level is still at a four, partly due to the threat from violent Islamism.