Swedish police have launched an investigation into whether former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke has committed "incitement to hatred against a minority group" in Sweden. Duke has spoken numerous times in Sweden. Last February Duke was in Helsingborg where he spoke before nazis and right wing extremists from Sweden and Denmark.
An initial investigation was shut down about three weeks ago on the grounds that Duke was a US citizen and it wouldn’t be possible for Sweden to push through to a prosecution.
But, according to The Local, that decision has been overturned by the Director of Public Prosecutions in Malmö, Sven-Erik Alhem, and the police inquiry has restarted.
Alhem came to his decision after interviewing Pär Brunmark, the man who initially reported the former Ku Klux Klan leader to the police and who has tracked his work in Sweden for several years.
According to Brunmark, Duke has incited hatred against Jews, which, he says, is documented in recorded speeches.
"We cannot with complete certainty say that he will stay away from Sweden for ever. Therefore, assuming that he has committed a crime, it is wrong to allow him to be let off for what he's done," said Sven-Erik Alhem.
Alhem said police would investigate whether Duke can be tried for "agitation against an ethnic group," a crime punishable by up to four years in prison. If charged, Duke would face arrest if he returns to Sweden, but it was not clear whether Sweden would request him to be extradited.
"That depends on the charges," Alhem said. Sources: The Local (Sweden), KLFY (Louisiana), New Orleans Times Picayune, Radio Sweden
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