More than ten weeks before the planned public gathering, the Sweden Democrats in Skurup submitted an application to the police. Despite applying well in advance, the application was not processed until the day before the event. This was far too late, according to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO), who now criticizes the police.
The application from SD Skurup for a permit to organize a public gathering was submitted on March 18 last year and concerned a political meeting on May 31. Since the Police Authority did not begin processing the case until May 30, there was not enough time to obtain a statement from, among others, the municipality and grant the permit on time, resulting in the meeting being unable to take place. According to the complaint, the delayed processing constituted a restriction of freedom of assembly and expression.
SD Skurup had planned to set up an election booth at a harbor in Abbekås from 8 AM to 7 PM on the day in question, with six party members participating and an expected crowd of several hundred visitors.
The case officer handling the matter was new and in training. Additionally, it was the first time he was assigned such a case. May 30, when he was contacted by the applicant’s representative, was also a so-called “squeeze day” (a workday falling between a public holiday and a weekend).
READ ALSO: Preschool Children Forced into Pride Parade – Parents Report to Ombudsman
For matters concerning public gatherings, five working days from the payment date are considered the minimum reasonable processing time, making it nearly impossible to handle the case the same day.
During spring 2025, the group manager began preparing compilations of cases to help case officers more easily identify those requiring urgent attention, such as public gathering permits. It is then up to the case officers to select cases based on priority order. The workload can therefore vary between officers, and the distribution of work may become uneven. The inflow of cases was also very high during spring 2025, and the workload was very noticeable for the individual officer.
JO: Unacceptable
In its decision, the Ombudsman notes that the application was made well in advance of the planned meeting, yet the police did not begin processing until the day before – only because the applicant’s representative reached out again for an update on the case status.
“Such passive handling is obviously unacceptable and not compatible with the promptness required by the Public Order Act,” writes the Ombudsman.
“The passive handling resulted in the public gathering not being able to take place. This is serious, and the Police Authority must be criticized for what occurred,” the agency concludes.