Swedish Women Accused of Defamation Connected to MeToo Found Guilty

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Swedish television programme Crime of the Week reviewed ten defamation cases linked to MeToo allegations over the last several years and found that in every single case, judges had sided against the women making public allegations of sexual abuse.

“All women have the right to their story, and you can tell what you want to a close circle of family and friends, but you can’t single people out in public,” lawyer Angel Eklund told SVT.

The broadcaster noted that eight women were convicted of gross slander, while the other two were convicted of libel. Six of the cases have seen a final judgement, while three others await appeals, and the final case has been referred for an appeal to the Swedish supreme court.

Half of the cases are connected to MeToo from the autumn and winter of 2017, while two others were made before the campaign and the remaining three after.

Four of the cases were accompanied by sexual abuse reports to the police, but those cases were eventually closed. Just one case saw charges, but the case ended in an acquittal for the person accused of sexual assault. In four cases, no police report was ever made.'