200 immigrants investigated in Sweden for threat of violence

STOCKHOLM - The Swedish Intelligence Service has put up 200 immigrants for further investigations for suspected threat of political violence over the past year, Swedish Television SVT reported on Tuesday.

According to the TV report, the Swedish Migration Agency has automatically sent information to the Swedish Intelligence Service about people who seek residence in Sweden since July 2017. And out of the 19,000 individual cases, 200 are now put up for further investigations.

"These are people who have in one way or another manifested or suspected of manifesting some kind of threat of political violence," says Oskar Ekblad, Head of Information Analysis at the Swedish Migration Agency, to a Swedish radio channel Ekot.

The information is sent to the Intelligence Service with an aim to find more easily those who might pose a threat to Sweden.

Oscar Ekblad says in Ekot's interview that the main focus is on counter-terrorism. The aim of automatic information check is to detect possible security threats earlier and in advance. In 2017, Sweden approved asylum or residence permit to 50,100 people.