Swedish dockers’ leader sacked for supporting Palestine

JVL Introduction

Erik Hegelson is the Vice Chair of the Swedish Dockworkers Union and he cares about security – for his members and for the people of Gaza.  In February 2025, he led a symbolic six-day blockade of 20 Swedish ports against military cargos destined for Israel. His employer – DFDS – responded by sacking him, claiming that he had broken Sweden’s (2018) Security Protection Act.  The Union has a tradition of international solidarity and took action during the Vietnam War and in opposition to the 1973 coup in Chile.

The police and even the country’s Chancellor of Justice saw no reason to investigate Hegelson as they found “no suspicion of criminal activity”.

Security may mean different things to different people; for the Union, like most ordinary people, it includes justice and so opposing injustice is essential and unavoidable.

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This article was originally published by Equal Times on Fri 9 May 2025. Read the original here.