In autumn 2020, the political party Alternativ för Sverige contacted the municipality of Nyköping to rent a room for a member meeting.
The municipality said no and referred to two points in the local rental policy.
On the one hand, the municipality feared that there could be riots and disruption of public order, and on the other hand, the municipality does not rent premises for meetings that may conflict with the municipality's policy regarding participation, equality, diversity and integration.
A representative of the party was not satisfied with the answer and demanded an explanation.
When the explanation was not provided, the municipality's handling was reported to JO.
JO started an investigation and requested decision-making documents.
At that stage, the municipality backed down and said that the decision not to rent out the premises was based solely on the risk of disorder and not that the meeting could conflict with current policy.
According to JO, this reasoning appears to be an afterthought.
On Thursday, the JO announced its decision.
JO criticizes the municipality because the party's representative never received a detailed explanation when he requested it.
The municipality is also criticized because the handling of the case has not lived up to the form of government's requirements for objectivity.