Three men appear in court over 'gang rape live streamed on Facebook'

The social media giant is said to be helping Swedish police with their enquiries

Police have not yet obtained the footage of the alleged rape, but Facebook is said to be helping to retrieve it (Reuters)

Three men have been remanded in custody in connection with the alleged gang rape of a woman in Sweden, reportedly live streamed on Facebook.

They were arrested after police were alerted to the on-going attack by witnesses who apparently saw it in a closed Facebook group, according to Swedish press.

Uppsala District Court remanded two of the men, a 20-year-old Afghan national and an 18-year-old, also from Afghanistan, in custody on suspicion of rape.

The third man, reported to be a 24-year-old Swedish citizen, was detained on suspicion of failing to report a rape.

“A woman is said to have been raped in an apartment. He is suspected of that,” said the 20-year-old’s lawyer, Christer Söderberg.

“He denies any criminal offence, and he has given in my opinion a perfectly coherent story about what happened. I cannot go into details, but he has told me in a way that is not contradicted by anything else,” he told Swedish news agency TT.

In Sweden, a person suspected of a serious crime can be detained before trial with the approval of a court if there is a risk that they will abscond, obstruct the investigation or continue to commit crimes.

Investigators are still working to get hold of the footage showing the alleged assault on the woman, said to be in her 30s, although they have obtained stills from some of the film.

One person who reportedly saw the live stream told the tabloid Aftonbladet: “I first thought it was a poorly orchestrated joke.”

Lead prosecutor Pontus Melander said on Wednesday that Facebook has been asked for help in retrieving the video.

“Facebook has said that they want to cooperate, but they are based in the US so we need international legal aid, which I have requested,” Mr Melander told TT.