Nine football supporters linked to AIK have been convicted by Solna District Court following a violent clash involving rival fans from Hammarby at the Västra skogen subway station in Solna on April 20 of last year. Local news outlet Mitt i reported the verdicts, which stem from an assault involving roughly one hundred individuals who gathered at the station before ambushing opposing supporters.
Surveillance Captures Coordinated Assault
According to court documents and police investigations, the confrontation unfolded early in the morning when a group of AIK supporters congregated at the Västra skogen station. Surveillance footage from the facility showed several individuals donning balaclavas and neck buffs to conceal their identities while arming themselves with improvised weapons, including belts, boxing gloves, and glass bottles. Investigators established that the attack was launched on a given signal as a separate group of Hammarby supporters moved through another section of the station. The AIK faction surged forward upon spotting their rivals, initiating a violent clash outside the transit hub.
Mixed Verdicts and Rejected Aggravated Charges
Out of thirteen individuals initially prosecuted in May for aggravated assault or attempted aggravated assault, Solna District Court ultimately convicted nine defendants. Two men received sentences of one year in prison and community service respectively for assault, while the remaining seven were handed six-month prison sentences for aiding and abetting the crime. The court rejected the prosecutor’s classification of the incident as aggravated assault, which had alleged special crudeness due to the numerical superiority of the attackers kicking downed victims. Four other defendants were fully acquitted because prosecutors failed to prove their active participation in the violence.
Unidentified Victims and Uncooperative Witnesses
Court records detail that two unidentified Hammarby supporters were knocked to the ground during the melee—one in a flowerbed and another on a pedestrian crossing—where they sustained kicks to the body and head alongside strikes from weapons, including a belt wrapped around an attacker’s hand like a whip. Because neither of the victims cooperated with law enforcement, their specific injuries could not be clinically documented or evaluated. However, the court noted that both victims managed to run away from the scene immediately following the assault, suggesting their injuries were less severe. While several defendants acknowledged their presence at the station on surveillance video, all thirteen originally pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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