The law on anonymous witnesses came into force at the turn of the year and means that individuals can provide information anonymously in investigations and trials – if there is a tangible risk that the person or their relatives risk being exposed to serious crime.
The purpose, according to the government, is to break the culture of silence in criminal environments and strengthen the ability to investigate crimes, but the system has simultaneously been criticized for being legally uncertain.
Voice Distorters
Shortly, a man with the alias "Åke" will be the first person to testify anonymously in a trial since the law came into force. He will be heard over the phone with the help of voice distorters during the trial regarding the murder in Lidköping.
The man has also previously been heard anonymously in the investigation, and in the interrogation, as stated in the preliminary investigation protocol, it appears that he was a member of Hells Angels. In the interrogation, he claims that the man who is charged with having instigated the murder has confessed to him and describes an exact conversation they allegedly had last year.
How do you ensure that the accused do not know who is hiding behind the anonymity?
It is, of course, extremely important to maintain anonymity throughout, says prosecutor Jenny Karlsson, who has requested the witness statement.
Isn't it difficult if the person is from the same motorcycle environment?
have assessed that the person can be kept anonymous, she says.
Appropriate or Not
Court President Peter Stafverfeldt, who is the chairman of the ongoing trial, will raise the question of whether it is still appropriate on the day of the witness statement.
Things can happen during the process. For example, if the prosecutor finds out that the witness has not told the truth or that the witness has been identified by someone.
According to the law, the judge has the duty to dismiss questions whose answers risk identifying the person. The witness also has the right to answer questions that risk revealing them.
A person with good insight into the motorcycle environment believes, however, that people within Hells Angels probably already know who the witness is.
Based on the question, many within Hells Angels can know who this is, and NN (the suspected instigator) probably also knows, says the person.
Three men with connections to the criminal motorcycle environment are charged with involvement in the murder of a 36-year-old man who was stabbed and shot to death in a local in Lidköping on March 20, 2022.
The 36-year-old had previously been expelled from Hells Angels and planned, according to the prosecutor, to start a new club, which is considered the motive for the murder. The plan was also to murder the man's father, but he arrived at the local after the son had been attacked.
One of the accused men, who is in his 50s, is charged with instigating murder and aggravated weapons offense. The two other men are in their 30s and are charged with murder and accessory to murder, respectively.
A prosecutor, a suspect, or a defendant may at the district court apply for a witness to be heard anonymously during a criminal investigation or trial.
The application may be approved by the court if there is a "tangible risk" that the witness or their relatives would otherwise be exposed to serious crime.
The penalty value for the crime the witness is to testify about must correspond to at least two years' imprisonment.
The reason for anonymity must "outweigh" the difficulties it poses for a suspect or defendant to defend themselves.
Other measures to protect the witness must be considered insufficient or significantly more difficult to implement, and it must otherwise be appropriate to hear the witness anonymously.
The court that tries the case shall not have knowledge of the anonymous witness's identity, a public counsel shall be appointed to monitor legal security issues in the case, and the court's decision shall be appealable.
Source: The Riksdag
