V-leader convicted of child abuse – but state media conceals it

The Left Party’s former chair and group leader in Borlänge, Rikard Rudolfsson, has now been convicted of two counts of child abuse and child endangerment after hitting his two children on the back of the head with an open hand. Yet both the local radio and the local newspaper refuse to name the now-convicted former top politician, who resigned from his posts after Samnytt’s reporting.

Samnytt previously revealed that Rikard Rudolfsson, who for a long time was the Left Party’s most prominent politician in Borlänge and a recurring voice on issues regarding men’s violence against women and children’s safety, had been charged with two counts of child abuse and child endangerment.

He has also, on several occasions, emphasized zero tolerance for violence and highlighted that children should always be protected from abuse. But now he has been convicted of child abuse and child endangerment.

Rikard Rudolfsson (formerly of the Left Party) campaigns for the safety of children and women. Photo: Facsimile Facebook

When the indictment was filed against this Left Party leader, Borlänge Tidning chose to anonymize Rudolfsson, even though he was one of Borlänge’s most high-profile left-wing politicians, with several influential municipal positions.

Only after Samnytt revealed the identity of the indicted politician and questioned the responsible publisher did the newspaper change its stance and name him.

The local paper and state radio anonymize the top politician – again

The verdict has now been delivered, but the local newspaper still refuses to state that it is Rudolfsson who was convicted. Instead, the article refers to an anonymous “father” who hit his children, when in fact it is the Left Party’s former top politician.

Samnytt’s online review also showed that Borlänge Tidning’s editor-in-chief and publisher, Erik Nyholm, has participated in anti-Sweden Democrats campaigns on social media. This has become more relevant now that the newspaper once again refuses to name the Left Party politician.

Editor-in-chief Erik Nyholm campaigns against the Sweden Democrats with Aftonbladet’s “We like different”. Photo: Facsimile Facebook.

Local radio, Sveriges Radio P4 Dalarna, also keeps a low profile. Neither at the time of the indictment nor after the now-announced verdict has the politician been named. The party affiliation has not been mentioned at all.

The local radio has become known for conducting witch hunts against Sweden Democrat politicians in the county and has published outright lies, which the party has then been able to refute. Samnytt has previously reported on this.

No serious journalism can be based on the idea that public interest depends on party allegiance. Either it’s relevant that an elected politician is prosecuted and convicted of a crime – or it’s not. The principle should be the same regardless of whether the politician represents the Left Party or the Sweden Democrats.

The local paper conceals the story – we wanted to know why

When the Left Party politician was indicted for the crimes, Samnytt called up the editor-in-chief of Borlänge Tidning to ask why they decided not to name him – despite his many important political positions.

When asked why the public interest did not weigh heavier, given Rudolfsson’s many influential posts within the Left Party, Erik Nyholm responded that it was a judgment he had made. He continued by saying that he had chosen to anonymize in this particular case, at this particular time.

When asked why SD (Sweden Democrat) politicians had previously been named, Nyholm replied that the circumstances in those cases were different and therefore could not be directly compared.

Rikard Rudolfsson (V) and editor-in-chief Erik Nyholm, Borlänge Tidning. Image: Facsimile Facebook / Instagram

When Samnytt directly asked if the anonymization decision had anything to do with the politician being from the Left Party, Nyholm replied:

– No, absolutely not. And I really can’t talk about this without going against my own publishing decision.

He continued:

– It feels like you don’t take press ethics seriously, because of course we have published information about… many different people. Information that might be considered objectionable. And in a certain context, it is entirely reasonable.

Falu District Court sentences Rikard Rudolfsson to a suspended sentence and 75 hours of community service. He is also to pay 20,000 kronor in damages to each of the children. If imprisonment had been chosen as the penalty, the sentence would have been set at two months.