Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Sweden

Overview: The United States and Sweden maintained good cooperation on counterterrorism and law enforcement issues. U.S. agencies worked with their Swedish counterparts in 2016 to improve information sharing and the evaluation of terrorist-related information. The Swedish Security Services (SÄPO) is concerned with the number of foreign terrorist fighters who have left Sweden to join terrorist groups mainly in Syria and Iraq. Of the estimated 300 individuals who traveled, some 44 were killed in action and 146 have returned to Sweden.

Foreign terrorist fighters in Sweden have been recruited mainly through word of mouth or online by friends or family members. Foreign terrorist fighters traveling to Syria and Iraq from Sweden were usually young males of immigrant background, but generally not of Syrian descent. Women also traveled to Iraq and Syria from Sweden, in some cases traveling with children or adult male companions.

SÄPO views the returnees with specific concern as they could potentially plan an attack in Sweden or could radicalize and recruit others for travel. In October, SÄPO reported to Swedish media that they saw a decrease in the number of travelers due to recent developments in Syria and Iraq.

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency reached out to various agencies and communities to develop awareness of the foreign terrorist fighter threat. The Counterterrorism Cooperative Council, consisting of 13 government agencies, coordinated Sweden's interagency counterterrorism cooperation. The National Center for Terrorism Threat Assessment produced long- and short-term strategic assessments of the terrorist threat against Sweden and Swedish interests. SÄPO monitored returned foreign terrorist fighters to evaluate their condition.

At the end of 2016, the national alert level was a three (elevated threat, no evidence of planning) on a scale of five (evidence of planning, attack imminent). The national alert level has been graded a three since 2010, except for when it was, for the first time, raised to a four (high threat, evidence of planning) following the November 2015 attacks in Paris. SÄPO stated the reason for raising the alert level was not due to specific evidence of planning, but for a need to raise the citizenry's vigilance following the Paris attacks. In March 2016, the national alert level was lowered back to a three.

Sweden is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, has made generous humanitarian contributions to ISIS-impacted populations in Iraq, and has sent 35 military trainers to northern Iraq in support of Coalition efforts. Johan Gustafsson, a Swedish citizen who was kidnapped by al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) when visiting Mali in November 2011, remained in AQIM's detention at the end of 2016. Gustafsson was last seen in an AQIM-released video allegedly made in July 2016.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Sweden's legislation criminalizes inciting terrorist acts, recruiting on behalf of terrorist organizations, travel to support terrorist organizations, and providing terrorism training.

To implement UN Security Council resolutions 2178 and 2199 and the UN Security Council ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime, new legislation with counterterrorism provisions came into effect April 1. This legislation included measures to criminalize travel to support terrorist organizations and the financing of terrorism, and measures to increase information exchange within Swedish intelligence channels and with partner countries. In June, Aydin Sevigin was sentenced to five years in prison for preparation of terrorism crimes under this legislation. Evidence included surveillance photos and receipts showing that Sevigin visited several large department stores, purchasing various items that can be used to make homemade bombs. Within the European Union (EU) Commission, Sweden continued to advocate strongly for a targeted revision of the Schengen Borders Code to provide for more thorough checks of EU nationals on entry into Schengen, including mandatory verification of biometric information.

In July, the Swedish government proposed introducing new legislation to clearly criminalize participation in combat-related activities in armed conflict abroad to support a terrorist organization. The government's proposal would more clearly criminalize the act of traveling abroad to undertake terrorist activity, financing of such travel, and recruitment for participation in combat-related activities.

During the year, the Swedish government increased the Security Service's budget for counterterrorism efforts by SEK 65 million (US $7 million) for 2016 and 2017 and SEK 95 million (US $10.3 million) for 2018. The Government of Sweden has also tasked the Security Service with developing its efforts to address the threat posed by returned foreign terrorist fighters.

Sweden participated in the EU Schengen working group and used the Schengen Information System II for information sharing, port of entry screening, lost and stolen passport information, and watchlisting. Under the auspices of the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement between the EU and the United States, Sweden collects and shares PNR information from commercial flights.

To improve its border security, Sweden has introduced provisions that allow the Swedish Police Authority to request passenger information to perform identity checks via Advance Passenger Information from any carrier that transports passengers to Sweden by air from a state outside the Schengen zone. This information provides greater opportunities to identify travelers with links to terrorism at an early stage.

Since November 12, 2015, the Government of Sweden has held temporary border controls due to the massive influx of asylum seekers into the country. The border controls, consisting of spot checks at the Öresund Bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark and at ports connecting Sweden to Germany via ferries, have been extended every three months. Such temporary border controls are permitted under the Schengen Border Code if a "serious threat to public policy or internal security" exists. The Swedish government determined these conditions had been met following consultations with the police and the Migration Agency.

On March 30, the Court of Appeal upheld the Gothenburg District Court sentence of Hassan Al-Mandlawi (32-year-old from Iraq) and Al Amin Sultan (30-year-old from Ethiopia) to life in prison for "the crime of terrorism through murder" after it ruled that graphic video evidence showed the pair taking part in the beheadings of two people in Syria. The verdicts marked the first time foreign terrorist fighters were convicted in Sweden of crimes committed in Syria, and the first time individuals were convicted specifically for the crime of terrorism as opposed to the secondary charges of crimes against humanity and murder. In June, the Supreme Court announced its decision not to grant the two an appeal.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Sweden is a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and has observer or cooperating status in the following FATF-style regional bodies: the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force. Sweden's financial intelligence unit, the National Financial Intelligence Service, is a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.

A new penal provision for terrorist financing came into effect April 1. The new provision penalizes those who collect, provide, or receive funds or other property in the knowledge that it is intended for a person or group of people who commit, attempt to commit, prepare, or participate in a particularly serious crime, including acts of terrorism. Criminal liability in these cases does not require that the funds or property be intended to be used for a particularly serious crime, but instead focus on the recipient of the financing and the individual's intent to prepare or commit serious crimes. The proposed scale of penalties for ordinary offenses is imprisonment for a maximum of two years. Sweden has not yet secured convictions under this statute.

Since April, the Swedish Tax Agency has conducted approximately 100 audits on 65 people handling large amounts of money without explanation, and collected nine million SEK (US $1 million) from people with terrorism connections.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Countering Violent Extremism: The Swedish government appointed its first-ever National Coordinator for Safeguarding Democracy from Violent Extremism in 2014. The Swedish government has described its approach to countering violent extremism (CVE) as attempting to address underlying factors behind radicalization to violence. The government seeks to depolarize Swedish society as a necessary step to counter violent extremism, believing that people who do not feel welcome and integrated in Swedish society might turn to violent extremism. The coordinator's main mission is to engage and involve stakeholders at the local level, providing assistance to municipalities, schools, social services, police, and civil society organizations. The coordinator is also responsible for raising awareness of violent extremism and for the development of prevention methods. The national coordinator's work has resulted in all municipalities appointing a CVE contact person, and a majority of the Swedish municipalities are also developing prevention strategies.

The Government has extended the coordinator's mandate until January 2018.

The city of Stockholm is a member the Strong Cities Network that was launched in 2015. In 2016, the Nordic Council of Ministers launched Nordic Safe Cities, a network including many Swedish cities that is connected to the Strong Cities Network and aims to foster an exchange of best practices from the local level.

International and Regional Cooperation: Sweden is a member of the EU and has been active on CVE and foreign terrorist fighter issues within the organization. Sweden belongs to the EU-9, a group within the EU that focuses on foreign terrorist fighters. Sweden also participates in the European Commission's Radicalization Awareness Network.

Sweden continued to contribute to counterterrorism capacity-building projects through its development assistance work carried out by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and also via funding to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime-Terrorism Prevention Branch and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Sweden supported the EU's work with capacity-building projects in prioritized countries and regions, such as Pakistan, Yemen, the Horn of Africa, the Maghreb, and the Sahel. Sweden provided trainers to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.

Sweden is a member of a number of multinational forums and collaborative groups, including the Counter-Terrorism Group. The group comprises security and intelligence services from all the EU member states, Norway, and Switzerland. Europol is tasked with helping its member states to prevent and counter serious cross-border crime and terrorism in Europe. Europol has started work to combine its various areas of expertise in counterterrorism into one department (the European Counterterrorism Centre) to further support member states.