Blocked the E4 and stopped an ambulance – acquitted of sabotage

Published 12 April 2024 at 16.24

Law & Right. The climate activists who stuck to the E4 and stopped the traffic – including an emergency ambulance – are today acquitted of sabotage by the Court of Appeal. Instead, they get away with daily fines for disobedience to law enforcement.

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The incident occurred in August 2022 on the E4 in northern Stockholm. The climate activists from the group “Restore Wetlands” went out on the road in rush hour traffic and stuck.

The road blockade caused traffic jams and queues several miles long on one of Stockholm's busiest roads. An emergency ambulance was one of the vehicles stopped.

The activists were charged with the crimes of sabotage and disobedience to law enforcement. They have rejected the charge, arguing that they have acted within the framework of their freedom of demonstration and that their actions cannot be considered to have seriously disrupted public transport and that they have “acted in an emergency” due to the “climate”.

< p>Solna district court sentenced all the defendants for both sabotage and disobedience to law and order.

The Court of Appeal first states that the mere fact that the act was committed in connection with a demonstration is not a reason to acquit the defendants of responsibility for crime.< /p>

– The freedom of demonstration does not in itself give any person the right to act in a way that can be judged as sabotage or disobedience to law and order, says the referee in the case, tf. Court of Appeal assessor Erik Silvén Möller, in a statement.

Unlike the District Court, however, the Court of Appeal considers that it was not a question of such a serious disturbance as is required to convict of sabotage. The defendants are therefore acquitted of this crime.

– Even though the action caused a great inconvenience to many, the Court of Appeal considers that the action did not entail such a significant disturbance that it qualifies as the serious crime of sabotage, says Erik Silvén Möller.

According to the Court of Appeal, however, it has been established that all the defendants have not obeyed the police command to leave the scene immediately. The Court of Appeal also states that there was no question of an emergency and therefore sentences all defendants for disobedience to the authority of law and order.

– The Supreme Court has recently stated that it is extremely rare that an act can be considered permissible with reference to threats to more comprehensive interests, in this case the environment. The Court of Appeal has found no reason to make a different assessment, says Erik Silvén Möller.

The penalties are set at daily fines, but since most defendants have been deprived of their liberty for about a month, in these cases the fines are considered to have been fully paid.

The two jurors disagreed and wanted to confirm the district court's conviction for sabotage. Otherwise, they agreed with the majority.