The National Prosecutor urged the Supreme Court to have the Gothenburg Court of Appeal retry the “snippa case”. Two Social Democrat-nominated jurors resigned after meetings at the party’s Gothenburg office, leading to criticism from former Minister of Justice Thomas Bodström and Director General of the Swedish Courts Administration Thomas Rolén. The election committee proposed the re-election of party chairman Mattias Jonsson despite the controversy, but party members have the final say in April’s representative board meeting. Jonsson said recent meetings have been supportive and that the chief officer who coordinated the meetings has been released for other work.
On Monday, the National Prosecutor decided to urge the Supreme Court to instruct the Court of Appeal in Gothenburg to redo the trial in the well-known “snippa case”.
Attention was also drawn to the fact that two of the jurors, nominated by the Social Democrats, who acquitted the man of charges of child rape, chose to drop out of their judicial duties after being called to meetings with employees at the Social Democrats’ office in Gothenburg.
Then the lawyer and former Minister of Justice Thomas Bodström wrote in SvD that “instead of the judges being forced to leave their posts, Mattias Jonsson, who took the initiative for the meeting, should do so.”
The criticism from Bodström and others led to the chairman of the S district in Gothenburg, Riksdag member Mattias Jonsson, in an interview with DN saying:
– I have stated that I am deeply sorry if it has been perceived as described by the national association of judges. I apologize if so, and have conveyed it.
Photo: Marko Säävälä/TT
In SVT’s “30 minutes” a few days later, however, the Social Democrats’ legal policy spokesperson Ardalan Shekarabi made a point and said:
– It is obvious that it did not turn out right. It may not have been their intention to exert pressure, but it was perceived that way.
The same day wrote Director General of the Swedish Courts Administration Thomas Rolén in Dagens Juridik: “Of course I don’t know what was said in this conversation, but when the district chairman first criticizes the verdict in the media and then comments on the announcement that the jurors resigned their assignments as “wise”, that is enough to create suspicions that the jurors have been subjected to political pressure.”
By this time, the election committee had already put together its proposal for a new board for the S district, whose annual meeting, the representative board, will be held on April 1. In the proposal that was sent to the members last week, the election committee, led by member of parliament Gunilla Carlsson, recommends that Mattias Jonsson be re-elected as chairman for two years.
On the question from DN says Mattias Jonsson that recent criticism has not given him reason to withdraw his candidacy.
– For my own part, I have not reflected on leaving for this. Although it is a serious issue that has been discussed, I can see no reason to step down when there is not, as I perceive it, pressure in the party organization to do so.
He says he was asked if he was available for re-election “a few weeks ago”.
– But I have had conversations with the selection committee after that.
You wanted to check if the situation has changed?
– Yes, and I encountered no such signal.
At the same time, Mattias Jonsson says that “the party decides”.
– I said after Anna Johansson resigned as chairman in 2019 that I would run if the members believe that I have the ability to unite us. But should members now have the idea that I am not that person, I will not bite the bullet for my own sake.
Mattias Jonsson says that after recent meetings in Stockholm and at home, he has experienced good support. Last Friday he met party secretary Tobias Baudin here in Gothenburg.
– He expressed that it was well handled in a difficult situation.
The chief officer who held the meetings with the resigned members of the committee are in service but, according to Mattias Jonsson, have been released to work on other tasks.
Jonsson himself met one of the former committee members on Monday.
– I have been in contact with one of them and had a good conversation. I don’t want to say more about it.