Swedish "hate mail" policeman freed

The Local:

The 43 year old Malmö police officer who sent an e-mail containing racist statements to council leader Ilmar Reepalu was freed on Tuesday by Malmö district court.

According to the court, the policeman was not guilty of persecution of a minority group. In his email to Reepalu he referred to "criminals called Mohammed from Rosengård" and urged the council leader to withdraw the "massive subsidies to all the bloody foreigners in Malmö".

The prosecutor had demanded a prison sentence or fine for the policeman.

The personnel department of the National Police Board had already decided that he would be dismissed if he was found guilty of a serious offence.

The court stated that the contents of the e-mail were offensive and degrading, but said that the police officer had had no intention of spreading his views more widely - despite the fact that the message became public when he sent it to the council leader.

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