A ridiculously lenient sentences in an unusually large hate speech case.

By Johan Romin

Since October 7, 2023, both the internet and the streets of Sweden have virtually exploded with antisemitism. Those of us who have spent years fighting this plague have stood aghast and in despair, wondering: how can this be compatible with Swedish law, and how can this not constitute incitement against an ethnic group?

Now, at long last, a verdict has been handed down against one of those who has engaged in incitement against Jews.

This week, a 29-year-old man from the province of Skåne was convicted of 12 counts of incitement against an ethnic group, one count of unlawful threats, and one count of money laundering.

What is particularly interesting is that, according to the Helsingborg District Court, the line for what is unlawful is crossed long before explicit calls for violence are made.

The court established that statements describing Jews as “rats,” “animals,” “wasps,” or using similar dehumanizing language constitute incitement against an ethnic group. Hitler salutes, Nazi symbols, and swastikas may also be criminal when used in a context expressing contempt for Jews.

The court also ruled that the antisemitic conspiracy theories spread in the material were punishable. The verdict specifically points to material claiming that Jews control the world, the media, or political movements as examples of contempt directed at Jews. Images and videos depicting caricatures of Jews, combined with messages about a “new world order” or Jewish world domination, were therefore deemed to constitute incitement against an ethnic group.

Furthermore, the ruling clarifies that certain statements about the Holocaust may also be criminal under the new law introduced in 2024. Anyone who denies, excuses, or grossly trivializes the Holocaust can be convicted of incitement against an ethnic group if the statement simultaneously expresses contempt for Jews. Among other things, the court found that claims portraying the Holocaust as a “money-making industry” or a “brand built on questionable facts” crossed the line into criminal conduct.

But then we come to the sentence. The district court concluded that the combined severity of the offenses corresponded to six months in prison. Even that may seem like a remarkably low sentence for such extensive and systematic hate propaganda directed at Jews. This was not a single tweet or an isolated post somewhere online, but rather a long series of hateful outbursts.

Yet the court chose not to sentence the 29-year-old to even six months in prison, instead giving him a suspended sentence and day fines for a total of 14 offenses. Among other things, the court took into account that the man has autism and ADHD.

What message does this send to all the Jews in our country whose freedom has been curtailed by these screaming hate mobs gathering in the streets and online? What do those families feel whose children must be surrounded by armed security guards during school hours and who encounter this hatred daily in digital spaces and in public life?

Once again, Sweden demonstrates how weak its justice system is when it comes to protecting the Jewish minority.

Anyone familiar with the history of antisemitism also recognizes the antisemitic tropes. One understands that street performances in 2026 depicting ritual murders of baby dolls are closely connected to the propaganda spread about Jews in the 19th century — propaganda that led to pogroms, assaults, and murders.

Sweden must wake up and put a forceful stop to this. A good place to start would be to significantly increase the penalties for incitement against an ethnic group and ensure that more offenders are prosecuted.

Johan Romin is a Swedish journalist and historian. 

This article was originally published by the Swedish news magazine Fokus.