Swedish police on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people protesting in central Stockholm against restrictions imposed by the government to curb the coronavirus epidemic.
The demonstration was illegal because it had been organized without permission, the Swedish authorities said. It was the first major demonstration against coronavirus restrictions in the country.
Swedish police reported acting as the number of participants exceeded the limit imposed for public gatherings on Swedish orders by the pandemic.
Videos published in Swedish media showed hundreds of people without masks gathered in Stockholm’s Medborgarplatsen Square, not far from the Old Town. The local press estimated between 300 and 500 participants.
Aftonbladet and Expressen newspapers reported that the protesters spread quite peacefully, but that six police officers were injured after disagreements broke out between police and some protesters who refused to leave.
Aftonbladet said the event was organized by a group called Swedish Freedom, which, according to the newspaper, claims that the rules against COVID-19 restrict human freedom.
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Unlike other European countries, early in the pandemic, Sweden decided to keep society largely down, but in recent months the government has taken a more assertive stance.
Sweden recorded more than 13,000 deaths during the pandemic, far more than its Scandinavian neighbors Denmark, Norway and Finland.