In a statement, the Alliance Network Against NATO called for participation in the action to be held in Stockholm Norra Bantorget today at 1pm to protest the new bill called "Special penal clause for participation in a terrorist organization".

On 3 May, International Press Freedom Day, the Swedish Parliament passed a law aimed at restricting freedom of expression, something unprecedented in the country's history since the 1940s.

The bill, which came into force on 1 June, will ban activities linked to extremist groups, as it beefs up its terror laws, a key demand from Turkey to approve Stockholm’s NATO membership bid.

The organizers of the demonstration, the Alliance Network Against NATO, said that “the law was created in Sweden because of pressure from Turkey's dictator, Erdogan. Erdogan calls all dissidents terrorists. In other words, everyone who does not fit into their political agenda: journalists, artists, teachers, Kurds and other minorities.”

The organizers of the rally continued: “We are organizing this protest for freedom of expression and association, to support the democratic forces in Turkey, and against Sweden's NATO membership.”

The Network's spokesperson, Thomas Pettersson, said: "At a time when everything from peaceful climate activists to the Swedish Nature Conservation Society and anti-racist activists is labeled terrorist by elected politicians, this law could seriously impact both our freedom of expression and freedom of association."