Swedish disco arson trial opens

There was panic as the fire quickly engulfed the building

Four young Iranian-born men go on trial in Sweden on Wednesday charged with an arson attack at a disco in which 63 people died and about 250 were injured.

The blaze in the port city of Gothenburg in October 1998 was the worst disaster of its kind in Sweden in living memory.

When the blaze began around 400 young people were packed into a hall licensed for only 150.

Many of the victims were Macedonian or Somali immigrants

The victims came from at least 27 different cultural backgrounds, and most were immigrants or children of immigrants.

Prosecutors say all four defendants share responsibility for the fire, which one of them started.

A flammable liquid was allegedly poured over chairs stacked in the emergency stairwell and set alight after an argument over the 40 kronor (five dollars) entrance fee.

The dance was organised by four teenagers who rented the hall from the cultural Macedonian Association during a holiday week.

Trial in exhibition hall

The Gothenburg district court is holding the proceedings in an exhibition hall to accommodate some 600 survivors and victims' relatives expected to attend.

The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

Three of the defendants - Shoresh Kaveh, Housein Arsani and Meysam Mohammadyeh - are aged 19, the fourth, Mohammad Mohammadamini, is 21.

They were all born in Iran but moved to Sweden with their families during the 1990s.

About 400 youngsters were packed into the disco

They have denied the charge of aggravated arson, though defence lawyers acknowledged that at least three defendants were present in the stairwell where the fire started.

Sentence for arson

The four were arrested earlier this year but formally charged only last week.

Conviction for aggravated arson carries a sentence of six years to life in prison, but Swedish law would allow a lesser sentence because the suspects were under 20 at the time of the fire.

The fire swept rapidly through the brick building, forcing the panicked teenagers to flee down a single, narrow staircase. Many leapt from second-floor windows.

Police made a breakthrough in the investigation after offering a reward of three million kronor ($340,000) in 1999 for information leading to arrests.