During the NATO meeting in Helsingborg last week, news coverage was cut short for journalists from alternative media. Police on site checked reporters Tor-Björn and Tyr Änglasjö, attempted to confiscate camera equipment, and then suspected Tor-Björn of a crime before both were removed from the area in custody in a police van. Samnytt has contacted the Police Authority and the reporter.
It was during the NATO meeting in Helsingborg on May 21–22 that brothers Tor-Björn and Tyr Änglasjö were present in the coastal city in Skåne to report on the events for Frihetsnytt.
But the reporters, equipped with cameras and tasked with providing an alternative and uncensored perspective alongside the establishment media’s reporting on the military alliance, had barely begun their work before receiving an aggressive response from police officers on the streets, as Samnytt has highlighted.
Samnytt has contacted the Police Authority region South to clarify why they acted in this way towards reporters from a constitutionally protected medium.
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The authority defends its actions by referring to the fact that the reporters were adjacent to the cordoned-off area and therefore should be checked. This was despite them stating that they were on site to cover the event for Frihetsnytt.
Video footage from the scene also shows a police officer explicitly stating that the check was carried out because they represented Frihetsnytt.
During the check, the police officers attempted to seize the reporters’ camera equipment, an action which, according to those involved, raises questions about the view of press freedom and journalistic work.
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When the reporters objected to this and tried to explain that they were on site to cover the news, they were instead wrestled to the ground and removed in police vans. During the intervention, Tor-Björn Änglasjö was also put in handcuffs.
Police: “Violent resistance”
The police claim that Tor-Björn Änglasjö, who was standing in front of the camera, resisted the police during the check and is therefore suspected of violent resistance against the police patrol at the barricade.
Samnytt also asked the Police Authority whether the reporter rather tried to get the police to stop, to stop touching his camera, and to take into account that he was present as a journalist on assignment, rather than offering resistance.
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In their responses, the police at the same time choose not to refer to the individuals as reporters, but only as “men” and “the men.”
“In connection with two men being checked near the cordoned-off area in Helsingborg during NATO’s foreign ministers’ meeting, one of the men resisted and was put in handcuffs and is suspected of violent resistance,” answered Jimmy Modin, press spokesperson for police region South.
The spokesperson continued that both reporters were removed to different locations under Section 13 of the Police Act as they were deemed to pose a risk to public order at the scene.
Would They Act the Same Towards SVT or Sydsvenskan?
We also asked the Police Authority whether the same type of action would have been taken against, for example, SVT, Helsingborgs Dagblad, Sydsvenskan, or other establishment media.
The authority chose not to answer these questions, instead referring to the reporter having committed violent resistance.
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The police further state that anyone dissatisfied with the intervention has the opportunity to file a report about the incident.
“If you feel that you have been treated wrongly or in a way that is not in accordance with existing laws and regulations, we encourage you to make a report so that it can be investigated,” answered Jimmy Modin, press spokesperson for police region South.
The Reporter: “100% Misconduct”
Samnytt has been in contact with Tor-Björn Änglasjö, who was identified by police as suspected of so-called violent resistance during his reporting at the NATO meeting.
What is your view of the police’s description of the incident — that you resisted during the check, which according to them led to the intervention?
– The police’s description of the event is directly incorrect. I have asked a lawyer to review the entire course of events, and he says that the police are guilty of misconduct with 100 percent certainty when they attacked me and Tyr Änglasjö, he says and continues:
– The intervention began long before the question of any resistance. The only thing I did was try to protect my equipment from the police’s unlawful violent assault.
How do you think the police would have acted if instead you were working for SVT, Aftonbladet or Sydsvenskan and questioned the check?
– This action would never have been taken against any establishment media, and if it had, the repercussions against the police would have been extensive. Furthermore, every media outlet in Sweden would have written meters after meters about press freedom, constitutional rights and police state, he says and continues:
– But because it happens to an alternative outlet, there is complete silence. It is thanks to news sites like Samnytt that this is even brought up at all.
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Tor-Björn Änglasjö returns to the fact that he and Tyr were on site as reporters for a media outlet with a publishing certificate, and therefore constitutionally protected, and that the police cannot act however they want towards such activities.
– We were working on a journalistic assignment for a newspaper, Frihetsnytt, with a publishing certificate and responsible publisher. Our assignment was to cover one of the most important meetings Sweden has had in a very long time. Then the police choose to attack us and say it’s because we belong to that media, he says and continues:
– They turn off our cameras, take our equipment, assault a journalist and say nothing during the entire process. They don’t even cite any legal grounds, only claim afterwards that we did wrong. This violates the Constitution and a host of other laws.
Sweden’s Press Freedom “A Hypocrisy”
We then delve deeper into the issue of press freedom in Sweden. When journalists on field assignments are checked, confronted by police looking to turn off cameras, confiscate equipment and criminalize reporters to enable their arrest or removal, several questions arise regarding this development.
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This comes at the same time as Sweden is often highlighted internationally as a role model for strong press and freedom of expression rights, and frequently criticizes other states for being authoritarian with limited press freedom.
How do you see the evolution of press freedom in Sweden?
– Free media has long been demonized, dehumanized, and depicted as fair game by the establishment. That’s why this happens to us. It’s considered acceptable, he says and continues:
– Sweden’s democracy, freedom of expression and press freedom are not for everyone. It is obvious that if you scrutinize those in power for real, those protections are no longer in place. Still, people beat their chests and have the nerve to lecture other countries for lack of freedom. It’s hypocrisy.
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– The only thing that separates alternative media from the legacy media (apart from legacy media concealing, lying, and distorting) is that alternative media scrutinizes power on behalf of the people, the legacy media protects those in power and scrutinizes the people.
“Hold the Police Accountable”
Tor-Björn Änglasjö concludes the interview by stating that he will not let this go, believing that this overreach should have legal consequences.
– I will not let this pass; I will do everything in my power to hold the police accountable. Such abuses must have consequences. Which is also why I am now raising funds to pursue this legal case.
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See the course of events and how you can support the brothers in the court case: