STOCKHOLM (AP) – Swedish police on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people who had gathered in central Stockholm to protest against the coronavirus restrictions imposed by the Swedish government.
Swedish authorities said the demonstration – the first major protest against the country’s coronavirus restrictions – was illegal because it was held without permission.
Stockholm Police said on their website that they decided to stop the meeting just after it started when the number of participants exceeded the limits for public gatherings under Swedish pandemic laws.
Video images on Swedish media showed a significant number without masks gathering in Medborgarplatsen Square, not far from the old town of the capital. Local media estimated that 300 to 500 people attended.
Swedish tabloids Aftonbladet and Expressen reported that the demonstration was largely peacefully distributed, but that six police officers were injured after clashes broke out with some protesters refusing to leave.
Aftonbladet said the meeting was hosted by a group called Freedom Sweden, which it believes believes COVID-19 rules restrict human freedom.
“There are so many people in Sweden who are fed up with these restrictions, which are really unfounded, and want to show that we don’t agree with them anymore,” said Filip Sjostrom, an organizer of Freedom Sweden, told Expressen.
According to Expressen, protesters included far-right activists, people against vaccines and some families with children.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Sweden, unlike most other European countries, chose to keep its society largely open with few restrictions, but the government has taken a significantly tougher stance in recent months.
Sweden has known more than 13,000 deaths in the pandemic, while its Nordic neighbors Denmark, Norway and Finland, who chose to impose coronavirus restrictions much earlier, have a combined COVID-19 death toll of 3,777.
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