Sweden allows anonymous witnesses
Anonymous witness statements have been admissible in Swedish courts since the beginning of the year. The new regulation which the conservative government - supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats - hopes will help to curb gang crime has been fiercely criticised by major institutions such as the country's Council on Legislation. Opinions also differ in the press.
Pointless erosion of legal certainty
Aftonbladet is not convinced by the argument that other countries have had similar regulations for years:
“Denmark can only cite one case from 2018 in which this law was applied. There was also one case in Finland. ... Norway cannot provide a single specific example. ... The public prosecutor's office knows that it is pointless to have witnesses testify anonymously. ... The courts detest such evidence and consign it to the wastepaper basket. It will be the same in Sweden. ... The change in the law is nothing more than another dose of opium for a sleeping population which seems to have no objection to seeing one government after another methodically and gradually eroding legal certainty.”
A necessary step against escalating violence
Expressen finds the objections hard to understand:
“The strangest thing about all the criticism is that the reform is hardly ever placed in a larger context. The number of shootings and bombings in Sweden is higher than anywhere else in Western Europe. At the same time, the culture of silence in the country is becoming ever stronger. There have been cases of witnesses who testify despite everything being threatened and in some cases even murdered. Anonymous witness statements are no silver bullet against the power of the gangs. But in combination with measures such as the admission of chief witnesses and increased camera surveillance they can help the legal system to fight the criminal networks.”