SD sources on Gellerbrant: Säpo sees no signs of a security threat

The Sweden Democrats say they have received reassuring signals from Sweden’s security service, Säpo, after allegations that the partner of senior party figure Gustav Gellerbrant spread pro-Russian propaganda for years.

The allegations were published last week by the magazine Expo. The woman, a Sweden Democrat official who now works as a political adviser to the Committee on the Constitution, reportedly took part in a Russian-sponsored trip to Moscow and made pro-Russian posts over several years. After Russia invaded Crimea, she wrote that “everyone welcomes the Russians, they have been waiting for this for a long time,” according to Expo’s investigation.

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Everyone welcomes the Russians, they have been waiting for this for a long time.

Expo also reported that she moved in a diaspora network with links to the Russian Embassy and Russian authorities. Much of the investigation concerned an amateur theater group in Sweden where she is involved in her spare time. Several people associated with the group have held prominent roles in the now-disbanded Russian national association Rurik. Expo said the theater’s director, with whom the SD official sought funding for the theater, had attended conferences featuring people from Russian intelligence services.

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There are very serious allegations in this article, there is no doubt about that.

Jimmie Åkesson said Friday that the investigation contained “very serious allegations.” The party has since discussed the report at several internal meetings involving its temporary election organization and press office. Several senior party sources, speaking anonymously because the issue involves sensitive security assessments, said the party had been in contact with the Government Offices’ security department and Säpo since days before the report was published.

According to the sources, the party sent all relevant material to the authorities. No one in the discussions told the Sweden Democrats to take action, they said. Säpo’s reported message was that the information was not new and had not prompted a fresh assessment. The official is now on parental leave, as is Gellerbrant, who heads the Sweden Democrats’ team in the coordination office. Within the party, there is sympathy for the couple’s difficult personal situation. The SD also criticized the Moderates’ crisis management, with one party source saying they had handled the matter “terribly.”

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We think they have handled this terribly.