A video of a heavily pregnant black woman being dragged off a train by security guards in an apparent row over an unpaid fare has prompted outrage in Sweden.
Shocking footage shows the woman, accompanied by her young daughter, being pulled from the train and pinned face-down to a bench while horrified onlookers try to intervene.
The incident took place at Hötorget subway station in Stockholm on Friday evening.
Transport company SL told the BBC that the woman was caught without a valid ticket and refused to pay a fine.
She was taken to hospital after the incident but is now recovering at home.
Activist Lovette Jallow posted the video with a statement from a witness on Facebook.
It said: “Four guards used excessive force on a black, pregnant woman with her five-year-old daughter with her.
“What I witnessed was that the pregnant woman was being held on the ground and then lifted to be dragged against the escalators.
“She struggled and shouted all the time in panic and pain. She screamed that she had pain and finally they let her down on the ground where she was lying.
“The guards then quarrelled with some other people who questioned their actions.
“The daughter was held away a bit by another guard and she cried and shouted at her mother all the time.
“I think it was about a ticket check from the beginning but I cannot see for my life how they can justify such an assault on a pregnant woman in the company of her child.
“This oversight of security guards must end. Given that they only spoke calmly with the (white) women who loudly argued against, the situation felt deeply racist.
“I can't say I know exactly what happened because the guards refused to answer my questions, but it was obvious they were using violence.”
The two security guards have been suspended pending an internal investigation, and police are investigating the potential assault case.
The officials are appointed by police, and tasked with keeping order in public places. They have certain police powers similar to a PCSO in the UK.
