Latest news with #SwedenDemocrats
The Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Bodyguards using fitness app revealed locations of Swedish leaders
LONDON: Trying to keep fit with runs through Central Park, a jog around a tropical island and a bicycle ride around Stockholm, bodyguards in Sweden inadvertently revealed the secret locations of the Swedish leaders they were assigned to protect. An investigation by a Swedish newspaper revealed that bodyguards for Sweden's royal family and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson uploaded their workout routes to Strava , a fitness app that allows users to map and share their movements. The popular app has built a global social media community, but its users' enthusiastic uploads have also raised questions about data privacy, especially among security and military personnel. In Sweden, the investigation added to the security concerns of a country that was recently rattled by what it called an 'act of sabotage' against an undersea cable. This week, the Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported that it tracked more than 1,400 workouts by seven bodyguards over the last year. The data showed that the bodyguards trained in the Alps, along Ukraine's border with Poland and at a military base in Mali. Sweden's security police confirmed that the data was linked to some employees of the secret service. Their routes gave away the address of the prime minister's private residence, as well as the location of a personal trip he took with his wife in October. Kristersson is also an avid runner, and while he had avoided sharing his routes, his bodyguards' data made it easy to track his preferred path. The Strava data also revealed a high-level meeting in Norway in June 2024, unannounced at the time, between Kristersson and the leaders of Norway and Finland, and the locations and routines of other senior Swedish politicians, including two former prime ministers. The prime minister's office said it would not comment on security matters. The locations of Sweden's royal family and the leader of Sweden's opposition were also compromised. A bodyguard's run along a beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, was matched to an unannounced visit to Israel by Jimmie Akesson, the leader of Sweden's far-right party, the Sweden Democrats. (The party did not respond to a request for comment.) Bodyguards assigned to King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia shared their data online, including a run around a luxury resort in the Seychelles, the Indian Ocean archipelago, where the royal couple were vacationing in March 2023, the newspaper reported. In one instance, a bodyguard's post revealed how to pass through the Drottningholm Palace, the king and queen's permanent residence outside of Stockholm. Sweden's Royal Court said in an email that it did not comment on 'security-related matters'. Sweden's security police said it was investigating the effect of the publicised data. 'To be clear, there has not been a leak or breach of user data,' a Strava spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday, adding that users control their privacy on the app. 'We expect Strava users working in sensitive professions to leverage the privacy settings available.' This is not the first time the fitness app has raised national security concerns. In 2018, the Pentagon banned the use of Strava in combat zones after analysts found that its data inadvertently revealed the locations and movements of military personnel in Syria and Afghanistan. In 2023, a Russian submarine commander who shared his workouts on Strava was killed while on a run, according to CNN and reports by the Russian news agency Tass. Last year, the French newspaper Le Monde published an investigative series showing how the app can be used to easily track world leaders, including President Vladimir Putin of Russia and former President Joe Biden, the locations of France's nuclear submarines, and operations by the Israeli military. – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Saudi Gazette
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Swedish migration minister ‘shocked and horrified' by teenage son's far-right links
STOCKHOLM — Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell has said he is 'shocked and horrified' after learning that his teenage son had been involved with violent far-right extremist groups, according to domestic media reports. The revelation comes after the Swedish security service, Säpo, contacted Forssell several weeks ago to alert him to the activities of his 16-year-old son. Forssell, a member of the centre-right Moderate Party who formerly served as foreign trade minister, is part of a governing coalition that relies on support from the far-right Sweden Democrats. The minister went public following an exposé by the anti-racism magazine Expo, which revealed that a 'close relative of a Swedish minister' had ties to the extremist far-right. According to the magazine, the son is reported to have attempted to recruit individuals to a white supremacist organisation and taken part in activities with the neo-Nazi and violence-prone group Aktivklubb Sverige. Speaking to TV4, Forssell said: 'As a father you are shocked, you are horrified. I have a deeply remorseful 15-year-old, who just turned 16. These activities are over but our conversations will, of course, continue.' Although Forssell followed his son on social media, where the teenager had been engaging with far-right activists and influencers, he said he was unaware of the extent of his involvement until Expo contacted him. He emphasised that his son is not suspected of any criminal wrongdoing. Taking to social media, Forssell described the incident as a potential 'eye-opener' for parents. 'It highlights a bigger societal issue,' he wrote. 'How much do we actually know about what our children do on social media, and how can we protect them from being dragged into something we don't want?' Far-right extremists have maintained a presence in Sweden for years and often recruit teenage boys and young men online, reaching out first on mainstream platforms before shifting to private channels. The Sweden Democrats, who hold considerable sway in the coalition government, have historic links to neo-Nazi movements and became Sweden's second-largest party in the last general election. Although Forssell intends to remain migration minister, he assured that he will 'continue to take responsibility" and be 'focused on implementing the policies we have received support from the Swedish people for.' Nonetheless, the issue is already prompting political fallout. According to local media, the Left Party has demanded that Forssell be summoned to the Riksdag and 'lay the cards on the table'. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has offered his backing to Forssell since the information on his son's involvement became public. 'He has acted as a responsible parent should when you learn that your child is doing wrong and is in bad company," Kristersson said. — Euronews
Euronews
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Swedish migration minister 'horrified' by teenage son's far-right ties
Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell has said he is 'shocked and horrified' after learning that his teenage son had been involved with violent far-right extremist groups, according to domestic media reports. The revelation comes after the Swedish security service, Säpo, contacted Forssell several weeks ago to alert him to the activities of his 16-year-old son. Forssell, a member of the centre-right Moderate Party who formerly served as foreign trade minister, is part of a governing coalition that relies on support from the far-right Sweden Democrats. The minister went public following an exposé by the anti-racism magazine Expo, which revealed that a 'close relative of a Swedish minister' had ties to the extremist far-right. According to the magazine, the son is reported to have attempted to recruit individuals to a white supremacist organisation and taken part in activities with the neo-Nazi and violence-prone group Aktivklubb Sverige. Speaking to TV4, Forssell said: 'As a father you are shocked, you are horrified. I have a deeply remorseful 15-year-old, who just turned 16. These activities are over but our conversations will, of course, continue.' 'Eye-opener' for parents Although Forssell followed his son on social media, where the teenager had been engaging with far-right activists and influencers, he said he was unaware of the extent of his involvement until Expo contacted him. He emphasised that his son is not suspected of any criminal wrongdoing. Taking to social media, Forssell described the incident as a potential 'eye-opener' for parents. 'It highlights a bigger societal issue,' he wrote. 'How much do we actually know about what our children do on social media, and how can we protect them from being dragged into something we don't want?' Far-right extremists have maintained a presence in Sweden for years and often recruit teenage boys and young men online, reaching out first on mainstream platforms before shifting to private channels. The Sweden Democrats, who hold considerable sway in the coalition government, have historic links to neo-Nazi movements and became Sweden's second-largest party in the last general election. Although Forssell intends to remain migration minister, he assured that he will 'continue to take responsibility" and be 'focused on implementing the policies we have received support from the Swedish people for.' Nonetheless, the issue is already prompting political fallout. According to local media, the Left Party has demanded that Forssell be summoned to the Riksdag and 'lay the cards on the table'. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has offered his backing to Forssell since the information on his son's involvement became public. 'He has acted as a responsible parent should when you learn that your child is doing wrong and is in bad company," Kristersson said.
The Guardian
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Sweden's migration minister ‘shocked' by teenage son's far-right activism
Sweden's migration minister has said he is 'shocked and horrified' after discovering his teenage son's involvement in far-right extremist groups. Johan Forssell, whose centre-right party runs a governing coalition that depends on the support of the far-right Sweden Democrats, said on Thursday that he had been contacted a few weeks ago by the Swedish security service, Säpo, about his 16-year-old son's activities. The minister decided to go public after the anti-racism magazine Expo revealed that a 'close relative of a Swedish minister' was active in the violent far right. Despite following his son on social media, where his son in turn followed far-right activists and influencers, Forssell said he had no idea about his involvement until he was contacted by journalists. 'As a father you are shocked, you are horrified. I have a deeply remorseful 15-year-old, who just turned 16,' Forssell told TV4. 'These activities are over but our conversations will, of course, continue.' Writing on social media, he said he hoped it would be an 'eye-opener' for other parents, saying the findings 'highlight a bigger societal issue'. 'How much do we actually know about what our children do on social media and how can we protect them from being dragged into something we don't want?' Forssell said his son, who has not been named, is not suspected of any crime. Far-right extremism has long been present in Sweden, but experts say recent years have seen a shift towards smaller, more agile groups, often based around fitness, recruiting boys and young men on social media platforms before moving to other private platforms. The number of active groups in the Swedish far right are believed to be at their highest point since 2008. The last general election saw the Sweden Democrats, which has roots in neo-Nazism, become the country's second biggest party and gain a powerful role in the direction of the governing coalition. Forssell, of the Moderates party, decided to speak publicly, he said, in order to protect his son. 'This has not been about protecting me as a politician, this is about protecting a minor,' he said. But it is already having political ramifications. The opposition parties have all called on Forssell to be summoned to the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) as soon as possible and have asked how much the government knew about the boy's activities. The Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on Thursday that he still had confidence in his migration minister, saying he said 'acted as a responsible parent should when you learn that your child is doing wrong and is in bad company'. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The Left party accused Forssell, who supports lowering the age of criminal responsibility for young people from 15 to 14, of double standards. 'Johan Forssell and the government have had a very high tone when it comes to the responsibility one has for one's relatives' connections to, for example, gang crime – now they seem to have a very different approach,' said the Left party's migration policy spokesperson, Tony Haddou. Forssell said: 'I know that there are other parties that want to score political points on this. If they want to do it, they can do it, but above all, this is a task for me as a father.' He planned to remain in his ministerial post, he said, adding that he was 'fully focused on implementing the policies for which we have received support from the Swedish people.' Säpo declined to comment on Forssell's case, but said it was 'constantly working to monitor violent extremist environments in Sweden'. The spokesperson added: 'Säpo generally has a good picture of the security situation around our protected persons, including any threats and vulnerabilities.'
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Bodyguards ‘compromised Swedish PM's security' after uploading runs to Strava
Bodyguards for Sweden's prime minister have been accused of putting his security at risk after revealing his location by uploading their workouts on the fitness app Strava. The security service officers shared details of their runs and cycling routes on at least 35 occasions, exposing Ulf Kristersson's whereabouts, including where he goes jogging, his overnight trips and his private address, which is supposed to be secret. Strava shows a map that a person can post showing the route run or walked or the public location where they exercise. The Dagens Nyheter newspaper tracked more than 1,400 workouts carried out by seven bodyguards who were protecting people in government over the last year. The posts were made from locations around the world, including military bases in Mali, close to the Ukrainian border in Poland and New York's Central Park. On one occasion, a bodyguard posted details of a run in Norway when Mr Kristersson was meeting with Jonas Gahr Støre, the prime minister of Norway, and Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland. The Swedish bodyguard later posted a picture of the three leaders running together on social media. Another post revealed that the Mr Kristersson was in Åland, an autonomous region of Finland, on a private family trip in October last year. Dagens Nyheter linked other information uploaded to Strava to the Swedish royal family, a former prime minister and Jimmie Åkesson, the leader of the Sweden Democrats party. Sweden is plagued by gang violence and has the highest gun crime death rate in the European Union. Sweden's security service, Säpo, said it was taking the findings 'very seriously' and taking measures to prevent it happening again. A spokesman said: 'This is information that could be used to map the activities of the security service. In what way it could have had an impact we are now investigating. 'In this context it is also important to know that protection of our protected people is comprised of several layers, of which bodyguard protection is one. In our work we assume that certain information can be known in advance and measure protection based on that.' A government office spokesman said they 'do not comment on security surrounding current or former prime ministers or cabinet ministers'. Earlier this year, the newspaper Le Monde revealed that crew members of French nuclear submarines had given away their patrol schedules by sharing their workouts on Strava. Another Le Monde investigation in October found the whereabouts of Joe Biden, the then US president, and Emmanuel Macron, his French counterpart, could be traced because their agents used the app while on duty. In 2023, a Russian submarine commander was shot dead on his morning run after logging his route with Strava. Stanislav Rzhitskiy was found with four bullet wounds in his back near the Olimp sport complex in Krasnodar, southern Russia. The 42-year-old had commanded the Krasnodar submarine, named after the city, which forms a core part of Russia's Black Sea fleet.
