Amnesty International Report 1998 - Sweden

(This report covers the period January-December 1997)

The death of a man in police custody revealed flaws in the investigative system. Information emerged about other deaths in custody since 1992. There were reports of ill-treatment by police officers.

In May the UN Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment expressed concern about people being held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time during pre-trial detention; isolated cases of ill-treatment by the police; and methods used by the police with regard to crowd control.

The investigation by the regional public prosecutor into the death of Osmo Vallo, who died in May 1995 while in police custody in Karlstad, was closed in April after a second post-mortem examination. Police who had been called to investigate a disturbance approached Osmo Vallo, who was reportedly under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Eye-witnesses stated that police officers kicked him in the back, unleashed a police dog which bit him many times, and stamped on his back as he lay handcuffed, face down on the ground. Once police officers realized that he had collapsed, they made no attempt to resuscitate him; instead they drove him, face down and still handcuffed, to a hospital. There he was pronounced dead. Two post-mortem examinations failed to identify the exact cause of death. Of various reports issued following these examinations, one indicated that he might have died from the combined effects of alcohol, drugs and severe physical exertion; another indicated that he might have died from the combined effects of alcohol, drugs and postural asphyxia. The first examination recorded signs of 39 wounds and bruises on Osmo Vallo's face, arms and legs.

Following the first examination, the two arresting police officers were convicted in 1996 in connection with their failure to control the dog and were fined. No criminal proceedings were brought in connection with the other reports of ill-treatment, and no disciplinary proceedings were initiated.

During the year it emerged that in the past five years there had been about a dozen deaths in custody in similar circumstances. Some of these deaths had been caused by postural asphyxia, or postural asphyxia combined with the effects of drugs or alcohol.

Three men alleged that they were ill-treated and subjected to racist abuse by police officers, following the arrest of one of them for driving offences in Stockholm in November. The three men made formal complaints about their treatment; they were subsequently charged with making a false complaint.

In April Amnesty International raised its concerns about the circumstances of Osmo Vallo's death with the government. The organization also expressed its concerns about his death to the UN Committee against Torture. In October Amnesty International issued a report, Sweden: Osmo Vallo – action needed to prevent more deaths in custody, which highlighted a number of areas of concern. The organization urged the authorities to reopen the case for further investigation. Amnesty International also urged the government to initiate a comprehensive review of all recent deaths of people in the custody of law enforcement officials in which restraint methods may have contributed to the cause of death, and to make the findings public.

In October the Minister of Justice requested the Chancellor of Justice to examine how the authorities acted in the case of Osmo Vallo and other similar cases. The Prosecutor General initiated a review of the prosecution authorities' decisions in these cases. In addition, the National Police Board issued instructions on the dangers of certain restraint methods.

In December Amnesty International wrote to the government about allegations of ill-treatment and racist abuse by police officers.