A 63-year-old man in Småland has been convicted of incitement against ethnic groups after posting jokes about Muslims on social media. This was decided by the Jönköping District Court.
The man was charged with five counts of incitement against ethnic groups due to his posts on social media. One of the charges related to him spreading the following pun:
“Muslim? Just wondering, is that what you use to glue mice?”
The court considers that this joke is criminal and shows disrespect towards Muslims.
Hate Speech Monitor
In other posts, for which the 63-year-old is also convicted, he writes “throw out the Muslim pack” and compares Muslim women who dress in full coverings to “garbage bags”. The court also deems this criminal.
The 63-year-old has been reported to the police by the so-called Hate Speech Monitor; a now defunct non-profit organization that continues its activities despite this. The group is behind, among other things, the report against SD Member of Parliament Richard Jomshof.
READ MORE: Jomshof: I was reported by the Hate Speech Monitor
In an email to Samnytt, the Hate Speech Monitor writes: “Who is behind HSM is confidential for security reasons.”
According to the Internet Foundation, it is Kenneth Bodin, the former chairman of the organization, who owns the organization’s domain name. He previously ran the organization together with the “project leader and investigator” Tomas Åberg.
The police investigator has not independently managed to secure the 63-year-old man’s posts, so he is convicted based on the screenshots attached to the anonymous report.
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Chose to pay fines
Samnytt has spoken with the 63-year-old who wishes to remain anonymous. He explains that he chose to waive a defense lawyer, as he cannot afford to pay for one.
“If I lose the case, I have to pay for it myself,” he notes.
“I can’t afford to pay for some damn defender that the idiots have appointed for me.”
The 63-year-old did not deny the crime but accepted the penalty: a suspended sentence and 40 day fines, as well as a fee of 1000 SEK to the victim support fund. He feels powerless against the Swedish legal machinery.
“The District Court considered it crystal clear. What am I supposed to do then?” he rhetorically asks.
“I just didn’t give a damn. I think the whole thing is ridiculous,” says the inciter convicted man.