Jonatan Alfvén was sentenced today for five cases of aggravated defamation after warning the public about convicted pedophiles and sex offenders on social media. The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Gustav Andersson and not by the individuals pointed out themselves. Read more about the sentence.
Samnytt has previously reported on the case of Jonatan Alfvén, 34, who was charged this summer with five cases of aggravated defamation after warning the public about dangerous pedophiles and sex offenders on his social media accounts.
Among the cases forming the basis of the indictment were, for example, a mother and her boyfriend who drugged and raped the woman’s children, with the youngest being only 14 months old when the abuse began, as well as a man who tied up a nine-year-old girl, threatened her with knives, and planned to sell her as a sex slave.
The prosecution was brought by the state itself, through Deputy Public Prosecutor Gustav Andersson—not as a civil case by the accused pedophiles and sex offenders themselves.
Throughout the criminal investigation, Alfvén has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the publications were intended to protect children and that the information was based on public records.
“We have no plans to stop informing about public records regarding convicted pedophiles and rapists,” he told Samnytt ahead of the trial.
SD Demands Pardon
Samnytt was on site during the demonstration held outside Stockholm District Court on August 19, when the trial against Alfvén began. Around a hundred people gathered to express their disapproval of Sweden’s defamation laws.
Directly following the demonstration, the Sweden Democrats held a press conference where they presented a firm demand.
– All those people who have warned about pedophiles, about dangerous criminals, who have done so to protect children, to help parents to keep their children safe. They should be pardoned, said Henrik Vinge (SD).
VIDEO: How SD will stop defamation convictions when pedophiles feel “offended”
He emphasized that it is offensive that those who warn about pedophiles are ordered to pay large damages to them, while the offenders themselves walk free to continue.
Pardon is a tool that gives the government the right to mitigate or completely waive a sentence. The conviction remains, but the penalty is reduced or eliminated. The decision is made by the government according to Chapter 12, Section 9 of the Swedish Constitution and cannot be appealed.
This Is the Sentence
Alfvén has previously said that he expects to be convicted but that he does not intend to be silenced. He also pointed out that social services have already been involved in light of the process and that imprisonment would have further consequences for him as a father of young children.
The verdict was announced today in Stockholm District Court. Jonatan Alfvén was convicted on all counts and sentenced to a conditional sentence and daily fines. To the pedophiles and sex offenders, he is to pay 70,000 SEK in damages each. In total, the damages amount to 350,000 SEK.
The court writes, among other things, that Alfvén’s social media accounts have over 100,000 followers and 47,000 followers respectively, and that the posts have therefore been widely shared.
Furthermore, it has “found that dissemination of the information to such a large and indeterminate group of people as occurred cannot be considered justifiable.”
READ MORE: Dagerlind: How do you take away the honor and dignity from someone who has none?