How did Sweden become the most dangerous country in Europe?

Neils Grönberg was only 19 years old when he was shot to death, with one bullet in his chest and another in his face. The images of his lifeless body lying on the ground in one of Stockholm's richest neighbourhoods - the very modern residential area of Hammarby Waterfront quickly spread to social media.

Many Swedes heard the news from their children. Neils Grönberg, or “Einár”, as he called himself, was one of the most popular artists in Sweden. And as middle class Swedes continue to hope that their children will stay away from what is happening among criminal gangs, the murder of Einár proved once again that this is a chaos, from which everyone can be affected.

Many parents were surprised to find that their children had their own complicated theories about who was the author of the murder, given what they knew from the textbooks known for the conflicts in the Stockholm underworld. And the residents of Hammaraby were not the first to discover that even the rich have a hard time avoiding gang violence.

The Swedish gangster rapper” may sound like a character of Sacha Baron Cohen. But this music is very much related to the wars between criminal gangs in the country. With violent texts, which we can hardly distinguish from the draft messages of the Islamic State, the rap is used to build criminal gang brands, and to show their ability to practice violence.

Einár, who had many criminal precedents, despite his youth, was raping on his Glock pistol, on the killing of <x0 minus>mies”, and even showing hand grenades in one of his videos. Reper “Cuz”, shown in the same video, was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Despite this, he has been photographed by environmental activist Greta Thurberg. But Einár was distinguished by other gangster rappers, since he was a child of 2 parents of Swedish origin, part of the country's cultural elite. His mother is a famous actress, and Einár himself attended as a child in a play at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.

He mentioned the famous American rapper Eminem as inspiration. But he was a victim of gang violence even before his execution. Last year he was kidnapped, sexually abused, beaten, and photographed by another group of gangster rappers who tried to exploit him, demanding a reward of more than 250,000 British pounds as they distributed humiliating photos to social media.

It was also reported on an attempt to place a bomb in front of the home of Einár. But in line with gang rules, Einár refused to participate in the police investigation and the trial that followed. One of the suspects in the kidnapping and extortion plot against Einár was declared the year's artist by Swedish Radio (SR).

But he could not attend the Gala evening to withdraw the prize, since he was in custody. Later, he boasted about this fact in one of his songs. According to police, Einár

was linked to Hasbi's <x0-5x1>, a criminal group currently in armed conflict with a rival group on drug trafficking.

Such clashes coincide with a popular model in Sweden, in what authorities call an vulnerable “ ” area of Sweden. Yordbro on the outskirts of Stockholm, is such a neighborhood. In the spring of 2019, two Syrian wigs opened a salon in the central square of the area.

They were visited very soon by local gangsters, who requested a “summit”. Paruciers refused, reported the event to the police, and two were convicted of extortion. But harassment continued. Salon was attacked, and his windows broke. As history made headlines in the media, members of the local community flocked to the wigists, liking their stand.

Even the mayor, Social Democrat Meeri Wasberg, went to express her support for them. But the threats continued while she was in the living room. Wesberg later wrote on Facebook: “during the time I was sitting there, a young man with a hat put his head inside, and told the paluciers that they should shut down the salon within an hour... He did not say what would happen if they did not. But this can be guessed”.

When TV4 television sent a journalist to the area to investigate that event, he was attacked in the middle of the square. So it seems that criminal gangs are stronger than the Swedish state. Finally, the police were forced to advise the public to stay away from the Jordbro neighbourhood.

Since then, Syrians have been displaced once again, and now they can visit their old neighborhood only under police escorts. They continue to live under police protection. How many such stories are left un confessed simply because victims dare not risk paying the same price?

Police once a year publish a list of dangerous areas like Jordbro, dividing them into “censible”, “particularly vulnerable”, and “zones endangered”, in total about 60 areas. These are areas characterized by high crime, by the unwillingness of residents to participate in judicial processes, and by the fact that criminal groups compete in the state for control of the territory.

Politologist and writer Peter Santesson has made an extraordinary discovery, confirmed by other scholars during the time he was drafting a list of areas in Sweden, where the percentage of non - Swedish residents is higher than 30 percent.

After eliminating the list of areas near the border and student residences, he noted that his quantitative index was perfectly compatible with the police list of the most dangerous areas. The latter lacked only one neighborhood, the Valstta area. Variablas as the measure of integration, quality of schooling, and police sources can be changed to different areas. But the vast number of immigrants in one area is closely linked to lawlessness and gang domination.

This is bad news for a country that has accepted more refugees per capita in recent years than any other country in Europe, and has had high hopes for finding effective means of integration. Twenty percent of Sweden's population was born abroad, and this percentage has increased at a rapid rate.

That figure was only 11 percent in 2000. According to a 2018 study by criminologist Amir Rostam, most of those involved in organised crime are immigrants of the first or second generation. Rostam identified 15,000 individuals involved in organised crime, a huge number for a country of only 10 million people.

It's these criminals and their organized gangs, those who produce violence added to weapons and bomb bombings. According to a recent study by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, Sweden currently has the highest rates of deadly violence by weapons from nearly 24 European countries surveyed, with 4 people killed for 1, compared to the European average that is only 1.6.

And the new culture of bomb attacks in Sweden, there is no close example in the West. This year alone, there have been over 110 explosive attacks in Sweden. This is why the largest German newspaper, Bild, has recently named Sweden “Europe's most dangerous”.

That is why Swedes repeatedly mention crime in polls, such as their main concern. 90 percent of respondents in a recent survey by the University of Gottebourg demanded stiffer sentences for criminal gangs. / Translate: Alket Goce-abcnews. al