The man has posted pictures, names and places of residence of five convicted sex offenders on Facebook and Instagram. The District Court does not consider that the man had any obligation to publish the posts and therefore sentences him for gross defamation.
The man has admitted that he published the posts but believes that it was justified and that he should therefore not be convicted of defamation. He has said that he wanted to inform people about the plaintiffs and the crimes they were convicted of, as well as bring about changes in the law regarding defamation.
There has long been debate about whether it should be illegal to warn others about people who have committed, for example, sexual assault, and the now convicted activist has received support from several politicians. This summer, the government announced that a committee had been appointed to review defamation legislation.
"We are concerned about the current legislation. We never pass judgment on current legislation. But I think there are many who think that we have unreasonable legislation today, which is rather aimed at people who are trying to protect other people," says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) at a press conference on Wednesday.
The activist must also pay damages to the plaintiffs.
