They have been hit disproportionately hard by the legal system. They have had to endure long-term suffering," says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) at a press conference.
If something has gone wrong, it is important that the state can admit it.
It was during the summer of 1984 that Catrine da Costa was found dismembered in Stockholm. Four years later, doctor Thomas Allgén and coroner Teet Härm were charged with the murder. The men were acquitted, but the district court also ruled that they had dismembered da Costa. Since the statute of limitations for that crime had expired, they were not convicted.
Social isolation
Because the court acquitted the men, they could not appeal its ruling that they had dismembered da Costa, and they therefore had no legal opportunity to clear themselves on that count. In a later trial, the men were also stripped of their medical licenses.
They have not been able to practice their professions; they have been relegated to a life of stigmatization and social isolation," says Strömmer.
“Mixed feelings”
Allgén and Härm each demanded five million kronor in compensation, and in the application, the men's lawyers wrote that the court's designation of the men as responsible for the dismemberment had "crushed their lives."
I would not have minded if the compensation had been higher and that is why we settled on a higher amount. At the same time, that is not the most important issue; the most important thing is that the state admits that it has made a mistake," says lawyer Filip Rydin, who represents Allgén.
Thomas Olsson, who represents Härm, says that "two million kronor can of course never compensate for 40 lost years."
He is, of course, happy that this apology finally came, but he is also deeply affected and marked by the years that have passed, so there are mixed feelings," Olsson says about his client.
The case was again highlighted in 2024 in SVT's "Documents from the Inside: The Swedish Massacre", which claimed that the court's conclusion was based on several errors. In May this year, Teet Härm and Thomas Allgén applied for "ex gratia" compensation, which means that the government pays a sum "out of grace" without being legally bound to do so.
2022: Brothers Robin Dahlén and Christian Karlsson received one million kronor each in ex gratia compensation, after they were wrongly accused of killing four-year-old Kevin in Arvika in 1998.
2018: Around 600–700 transgender people who were forcibly sterilized between 1972–2013 in connection with changing their legal gender were granted compensation of SEK 225,000 each.
2015: After mass vaccination against swine flu in 2009, more than 300 Swedes fell ill with the chronic neurological disease narcolepsy. In 2015, it was decided to provide state ex gratia compensation to some of those affected.
2013–2014: Children who were placed in orphanages or foster homes between 1920 and 1980 and who were neglected or subjected to serious abuse were given the opportunity to apply for compensation from the state.
2007: A woman received 200,000 kronor ex gratia after she suffered serious injuries during childbirth. The woman turned to the government after being denied compensation by insurance companies, Personskadereglering AB (PSR), and the Patient Injury Board, when it was determined that no one in the healthcare sector had committed any wrongdoing.
