Filmmakers sentenced in Sweden for filming the incident with the ferry “Estonia”
LONDON
Two Estonian filmmakers were found guilty of filming the ferry “Estonia” on Monday at a court in Gothenburg.
Some 852 people died 28 years ago and 137 people survived the weather disaster that caused the ship to sink in what is considered one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century.
Judge Göran Lundahl said the court took into account that the wreck “is a burial place for a large number of people.
Citizens have a right to information and the information that emerged during the film team’s investigations is of extremely high public interest. Replica in @GPKultur today by us and @RSF_RUG https://t.co/eVyKpYuxsV
— Journalists’ Association (@journalistforb) August 25, 2022
He also said that “the protection of the sanctity of the dead is more important than the protection of freedom of speech and freedom of information.”
The court issued a fine without mentioning how much money they will have to pay.
Journalist Henrik Evertsson and wreck expert Linus Andersson triggered a controversial court case when they discovered a four-meter-high hole in the hull of the ferry Estonia after sending down a diving robot.
The discovery of the two men raised new questions about the reasons why the ferry sank in 1994 as the damage to the starboard side of the ferry is greater than previously thought.
The original investigation into the disaster concluded that it was caused by the natural disaster, but filmmakers were told by the experts that this is incorrect as only external factors could cause the damage and the hole in the hull to such an extent.
The team used the diving robot to examine the wreck during filming in 2019.
However, this led to the two men being prosecuted for breaching the special burial peace law introduced after the Estonia disaster.
The two defendants were acquitted by the Gothenburg district court at the beginning of last year, but the courts have decided to resume the trial.
Last time, the court ruled that the Grave Peace Act did not apply in their case, as the filmmakers used a German boat based in Germany that did not sign the so-called Estonian Act.
The Gothenburg Court of Appeal, however, decided to return the case to the lower court for a new trial, as the “Estonian Act” according to them must be applied since the two men are Swedish.
For over two decades, the survivors and relatives of the dead have demanded that the full investigation take place.
New studies are being conducted after the discovery of the filmmakers.
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