A Stockholm court Wednesday sentenced five extreme leftist militants to jail for politically motivated crimes including violent assault, attempted arson and intimidation.
"Those charged are not 'ordinary' perpetrators of violence," district court judge Bertil Sundin said in a statement, handing down jail terms ranging from 14 months to 2 years to the five men aged 19 to 22.
"The crimes would be unfathomable if you did not understand that they were an organized part of the activities of the Revolutionary Front (RF)," added Sundin, referring to a violent revolutionary group which regularly targets neo-Nazi demonstrations.
The militants — who denied most of the charges — were found guilty of aggravated assault on two Slovak nationals in September 2013, who they mistakenly thought were part of a demonstration by Swedish neo-Nazi group Party of the Swedes.
During the attack, which the RF filmed, the victims were hit around the head and body with bottles, chairs and a flowerpot.
All five men — and two more who were given suspended sentences — were ordered to pay fines and compensation to the victims.
A 20-year-old accused of having a leading role in the revolutionary group was ordered to pay 69,309 kronor ($10,500, 8,000 euros) and was sentenced to two years in jail.
The court said in its ruling that although the young age of the attackers was taken into consideration, the organized nature of the crimes led to stricter sentences.
"We are very unhappy with this judgement and will appeal it," the man's lawyer told AFP, adding that there was no proof that the assaults had been planned in advance.
Other members of the group were found guilty of attempted arson and of threatening a suspected Swedish neo-Nazi at home, painting "Nazi swine" on his house and placing an axe in the door.
In recent months, several violent clashes have taken place between neo-Nazis and leftist extremists on the margins of street demonstrations in Sweden, leaving several people injured.
A 35-year-old man was sentenced to six and a half months in jail last month for stabbing a neo-Nazi activist during clashes in Stockholm at an anti-racism march in December.