Published at 06:00
The tone is high when the negotiations in the record-breaking Lundin case are to be concluded.
A research group following the trial states that after almost three years, the parties continue to have completely different descriptions of reality.
– This is not a goal where the parties later meet in the cafe and have a little chat, says researcher Isabel Schoultz.
Sweden’s longest trial to date is expected to finally end this week, after 33 months of main proceedings.
The prosecutors are demanding ten and six years in prison for former Lundin Oil executives Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter, respectively, for aiding and abetting serious violations of international law in Sudan.
At the same time, the entire prosecution is dismissed by the defense as a waste of money, without any possibility of a conviction.
– The other week one of the defenders said that there is not a comma in this indictment that is correct, says Isabel Schoultz, associate professor of legal sociology from Lund University who leads a research project that studies legal battles and strategies in the Lundin trial.
Disagree about everything
The defense disputes basically everything that the prosecutors claim: War crimes have not been committed, the oil did not play a decisive role and the defendants were not involved.
– With the resources that have been available in the defense, they have been able to twist and turn this target in a way that is very unusual, says research colleague Nina Törnqvist from Uppsala University.
The researchers see it as a clear strategy from the defense to not only shoot at selected parts, but in principle at everything that is presented – and in this way build up a mountain of criticism that must be met.
Great resources
At the same time, the prosecution side has had unusually strong resources, they too have been able to go into details in a way that stands out. Then it is not least about the company’s internal communication, which was accessed after a house search and which is seen as their strongest evidence.
– For example, they have been able to go in and show who was last inside a certain document when the status was unclear. It is at that level that the evidence is discussed, which is unusual if not unique, says Nina Törnqvist.
At times, there has been a high tone in the court, especially at the end.
– There has been incredible tension in the hall. We have been told how this is just a product of the prosecutor’s imagination, there were also several references to the Thomas Quick investigations, that it is such a judicial scandal, says Isabel Schoultz.
The trial is due to end on Thursday.
Sweden’s longest trial
The trial in the so-called Lundin case has been ongoing since September 2023 and is the longest main trial that has been held in Sweden. In the case, Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter, former representatives of Lundin Oil, are charged with aiding and abetting gross violations of international law in southern Sudan from 1999 to 2003, when the Swedish company was active in the country affected by civil war.
According to the indictment, they knew about and contributed to the fact that military and militia loyal to the regime killed and displaced people in order 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 suspicions and believe that the prosecution is based on a long series of factual errors. In addition to disputing aiding and abetting, it is also disputed that the type of war crime alleged in the indictment was committed.
The prosecutor has asked for prison terms of ten and six years respectively for Lundin and Schneiter.
