Gothenburg nightclub fire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

The Gothenburg nightclub fire was a fire that occurred on the night of October 28, 1998, at a discoteque in Gothenburg, Sweden.^[1] In terms of the human impact, the fire is the worst in contemporary Sweden. Sixty-three people were killed and and more than two hundred were injured; all of them young adults between the ages of 12 and 20. The premises on the third floor had been rented by the Macedonian community for high-school students to celebrate Halloween.

1 Fire
2 Criminal prosecution
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Fire

The fire was set by a group of 17 to 19-year olds of Iranian decent that had been asked to leave the event after having been involved in a fight. The arsonists started the fire in the emergency exit stairway using the furniture stored there, leaving only the main stairway open. Although the facility was licensed to hold 150 people, the investigations after the fire estimated that 400 people were inside.^[1]^[2]

[edit] Criminal prosecution

The four arsonists Shoresh Kaveh, Housein Arsani, Meysam Mohammadyeh, and Mohammad Mohammadamini, were convicted in 2000. The leader, Kaven, received eight years imprisonment, a harsh punishment for juveniles by Swedish standards. Arsani and Mohammadamini received seven years in prison and Mohammadyeh, who was a minor at 17 at the time of the crime, received three years in a community home. The youngest of the arsonists was defended by the nationally famous lawyer Leif Silbersky. Both the prosecutor and the defendants filed for appeal which was later declined.