*groans*
The self-defence issue... one of the most opinion-rich subjects in the world, and the one where those having opinions is usually the least informed, usually ending up with some foaming "RAAAAGH!!! MUST BE ALLOWED TO KILL!" rant about how the governemnt is lean on crime and mean on victims just because the "victim" wasn't allowed to gun down someone who stood on the street and looked funny at his house.
Anyway... end rant-mode:
Self-defence in Sweden is simple: any action you need to take to protect life, limb, property, residence or other vital interrests protected by law from an imminent or on-going criminal attack is be concidered a non-crime as long as the action taken is not obviously unreasonable when concidering the danger, the violation and the value of the property defended.
That's all you need really. If someone asks you "Why did you do that? It's against the law", all you need to do is to say "I thought that was my last option to defend myself".
This doesn't stop the foam-mouthers from going bersek from time to time when someone gets convicted for alledged self-defence. But without any exception, those cases always turns out to be where someone did something excessive that was indeed obviously unreasonable and didn't need to be done to defend from or prevent the crime.
A couple of additional points:
- Anyone assisting someone else that has the right to defend themselves has the same rights.
- If a person "could not reasonably be expected to control themselves", that too may count as a defence from accusations. It's not "temporary insanity" like in the US though.
- Not complying when asked to leave a residence gives the tenant(s) just cause to evict the perp under self defence.
- If caught red-handed, a person resisting returning stolen property gives self-defence rights to those trying to take it back.
About guns: not allowed for self defence in Sweden.
/S