Network Africa - Sweden (NAS) 

Edited by Merete Grut ("Ami Fall") 
member of the coordinating group of 
the Network for Adonis Hocheimy 


STOCKHOLM 2000-09-29 
The Gambian citizen Seidou Konte, 38 yrs, who was beaten and seriously 
injured outside the bar "Tre Remmare" late Wednesday night this week, is 
still in hospital after surgery but now better and out of the respiratory. 
The bar Tre Remmare, close to T-centralen in Stockholm, already has a bad 
reputation among africans because of many other cases where guards have 
refused people with a dark complexion to enter the place. 

Friends of Seidou Konte, as well as representatives from the network for 
Adonis Hocheimy, have taken action to make the case known by the media, as 
well as by authorities in Sweden and in the Gambia. The case has already 
been referred in Radio Stockholm and in the swedish newspaper Expressen. 
Also, a lawyer has been consulted to defend the Gambian if his case is to be tried in court. 

Eyewitnesses outside the bar made sure to ask the man for his name and 
nationality before he passed out. The witnesses then followed him to the 
hospital made sure his family in Sweden would be contacted, and then stayed with him until the next day when he woke up and was able to speak and tell 
his name so that his identity could be verified. 

The eyewitnesses stated that it was one of the security guards who came out from the bar and beat the Gambian so seroiusly that he fell backwards 
without control and hit his head on the sidewalk. The guard, who got scared when he realized the impact of the assault, disappeared and the other guards tried to convince the witnesses and the police that it was another guest at the resturant who beat the man. When the eyewitnesses tried to make the police collect all the statements of the witnesses, the police said "It's enough with one witness". Then they questioned only one man in favour of the beaten up Gambian, who was at that point lying unconscious on the pavement, and then went on to question another man in favour of the guards who also actually was found out by the witnesses as a friend of the people guarding the bar - since he disappeared together with the guards in their car. 

The abulance took one good half an hour to arrive at the scene, and at the 
hospital doctors said that the man would most possibly have died if they 
hadn't immideately performed a surgery to drain his head from the internal 
bleeding. It is not yet sure whether the Gambian will suffer any permanent 
damage because of the his injury. 

In the media the police now states: "Word stands against word", when really it's a fact that there were more people that witnessed what happened and 
could witness in favour of the Gambian. 

The Network for Adonis Hocheimy now calls for a wide cooperation between 
organizations in order to launch protests against the increased racism, 
discrimination and violence from security guards, police and other 
authorities. More information will follow in this particular case later on. 

We strongly believe that a network engaged in these questions is needed 
especially among the african citizens in Sweden. The only way to fight these kind of happenings is to make a lot of noise!!! And to make itinstantly!!!! 





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