The hearing was held in the security room of Jönköping District Court, due to renovations in Linköping District Court. A lot of media had gathered to follow the trial – both locally and nationally. The background to the interest is the debate that has been after the recent Koran burnings in Sweden.
Chief prosecutor Eva Nemec Nordh does not believe that it is the Koran burning itself that constitutes the crime of incitement to racial hatred – but that several circumstances in combination mean that it tips over to that in that case.
Music is important
Great emphasis was placed on the music played in the film from the event. It is about the song "Serbia Strong" or "Remove Kebab" that came about during the Yugoslav war in the 90s - then as a tribute to genocide convicted Radvan Karadzic. The same song was played in the live broadcast of the mosque massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand.
During the closing arguments, it became clear that there is no clear precedent and the case was referred to several times as unique.
Suspended sentence
Given that it took three years for the case to be dealt with, Eva Nemec Nordh requested that the 27-year-old be sentenced for incitement to racial hatred to probation. The defense believes that the film falls under the opinion of the perpetrator and that he should be acquitted completely.
"We believe that the film would fall under the violation of peace of faith. But it is legislation that was abolished in 1970 because it was considered a restriction on freedom of expression, says Felix Nelson, a lawyer.