The Swedish government presented a package of constitutional amendments on December 5, within the framework of the fight against organized crime, which provides for the possibility of depriving leaders of criminal groups of citizenship. This was reported by "Reuters".
In January, a parliamentary committee proposed amendments allowing the state to revoke the citizenship of individuals accused of treason or espionage. Now the government wants to expand this scope and implement a mechanism to also deprive leaders of criminal groups who have caused serious harm to society of their citizenship.
According to Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer, the new bill introduced to parliament allows for the annulment of the passport of individuals with dual citizenship who are accused of serious crimes important to national security.
The proposed constitutional amendments are expected to come into force at the beginning of 2027.
Sweden has been struggling with a sharp increase in violent crimes over the past decade. A large part of the criminals are under 15 years old, which is the age of criminal responsibility in the country. Also, the expansion of Swedish criminal networks into Norway, Denmark, and Finland has caused serious concern in the region.
In September, the government also announced a plan to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 in order to combat youth crime, but most state agencies and organizations opposed this proposal.
