Sweden's longest trial to date is expected to finally conclude this week, after 33 months of main proceedings.
Prosecutors are seeking ten and six years in prison, respectively, for former Lundin Oil executives Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter, for aiding and abetting serious crimes against humanity in Sudan.
The defense has dismissed the entire prosecution as a waste of money, saying there is no possibility of a conviction.
"The other week, one of the defense attorneys said, 'There is not a comma in this indictment that is in the right place,'" says Isabel Schoultz, associate professor in legal sociology from Lund University who leads a research project studying legal battles and strategies in the Lundin trial.
Disagree about everything
The defense questions essentially everything the prosecutors claim: war crimes were not committed, oil did not play a decisive role, and the defendants were not involved.
"With the resources that have been available to the defense, they have been able to twist and turn this case in a way that is very unusual," says research colleague Nina Törnqvist from Uppsala University.
The researchers see it as a clear strategy by the defense to not only attack selected parts, but in principle everything that is presented - and in this way build up a mountain of criticism that must be addressed.
Great resources
At the same time, the prosecution has had unusually strong resources, and they have also been able to go into detail in a way that stands out. This is not least the case with the company's internal communications, which were accessed after a search warrant and are seen as their strongest evidence.
"For example, they have been able to show who was last to access a certain document when its status was unclear. It is at that level that the evidence is discussed, which is unusual, if not unique," says Nina Törnqvist.
At times, the tone in court has been heated, especially towards the end.
"There has been incredible tension in the room. We have been told how this is just a figment of the prosecutor's imagination, there were also several references to the Thomas Quick investigations, that it is such a legal scandal," says Isabel Schoultz.
The trial is due to conclude on Thursday.
The trial in the so-called Lundin case has been ongoing since September 2023 and is the longest main hearing ever held in Sweden. In the case, Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter, former representatives of Lundin Oil, are charged with aiding and abetting serious crimes against humanity in southern Sudan from 1999 to 2003, when the Swedish company was active in the civil war-torn country.
According to the indictment, they were aware of and contributed to the killing and displacement of people by the military and pro-regime militia to create conditions for Lundin Oil's oil exploration in an area that had long been controlled by rebels.
Lundin and Schneiter have denied the allegations and claim that the indictment is based on a long list of factual errors. In addition to denying aiding and abetting, they also deny that the type of war crimes alleged in the indictment were committed.
The prosecutor has requested ten and six years in prison for Lundin and Schneiter, respectively.
