On the night from Saturday to Sunday, ten years after the major terrorist attacks on 11 September in the United States, special Swedish police units arrested four possible terrorists during the opening of the art biennale in Gothenburg. Before that, the party in the Red Stone art hall, under one of the city’s main bridges, was evacuated just after midnight.
On Sunday morning, police confirmed that the four are suspected of preparing terrorist acts involving “a real threat to human life or extensive disruption of property”, but the spokesperson did not want to provide the identity of the people arrested or any possible weapons or explosives. The spokesman declined to comment on a possible connection with the commemorations of the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
The evacuation of the hundreds of guests of the art party, including prominent figures from the Swedish artistic world, went smoothly. Some in attendance thought the police action was part of the show. The barriers around the Kunsthal were lifted early on Sunday morning. The Gothenburg Art Biennale is at multiple locations across the city until November 13, and continues as usual. | © 2011 Marcel Burger for ANP News Agency (original published in Dutch on 11 September 2011)