Sjödin ‘should not get new trial’

Anna Sjödin, former head of the Social Democrats' youth movement SSU, should not have her conviction for assault overturned, Sweden's Prosecutor General has told the Supreme Court.

Published: 26 February 2007 14:24 CET

The Prosecutor General said that there were no grounds for the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction and grant a retrial.

Sjödin was refused a chance to appeal by the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm, after she was found guilty on four charges, including assaulting a person holding legal authority. She was fined 120 days’ wages.

The Supreme Court is now due to decide whether to grant Sjödin’s application for a new trial. The court will take the Prosecutor General’s submission into account when considering the application.

In similar cases, 97 percent of applications are rejected. The Prosecutor General said that neither Anna Sjödin nor her friend, who was convicted at the same time, had presented sufficient grounds to warrant a new trial.