Sweden: Gay man’s attacker may have struck before

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A Swedish man arrested last weekend for beating up a gay man might be responsible for more homophobic attacks, Stockholm police said.

The suspect, aged 35, allegedly attacked a 44-year-old man who was found injured in his home. The man was arrested at 5pm on Friday.

The victim suffered injuries that might leave him permanently disabled, although he is now in a stable condition.

The men met on a contact web site.

The suspect, who has been charged with attempted murder and robbery, is known to police for similar violent offences.

He admits he was at the crime scene, but police are not revealing how he reacted to the accusations.

Stockholm police have searched the man’s house and inspected his computer and now suspect he may have attacked other gay men.

“We’ve looked at his internet use, and he has given his phone number and arranged meetings with other.

“What we don’t know is whether the meetings actually happened and what they led to,” Mikael Ekman of Stockholm Police told The Local .

“With this kind of crime, people cherry pick their victims. He is choosing people whom he believes will not make reports.

“In a way he might be right, because it’s not so easy to open up to the police.”

Sweden is considered to be one of the most liberal countries in the world when it comes to laws surrounding homosexuality.

However, just last year the leader of a neo-Nazi group in southern Sweden has been jailed for three months for an attack on the local headquarters of gay rights group RSFL in Kristianstad, southern Sweden.

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