Verdict overshadows Nobel announcements
Attempts by the Nobel Foundation to move on from the sex scandal that blighted the awards were undermined yesterday by the jailing of a rapist who prompted the cancellation of this year’s literature prize.
Jean-Claude Arnault, 72, was convicted and sentenced in a Stockholm court for the 2011 rape of a woman, minutes before two researchers won the prize for medicine for their groundbreaking work in the treatment of cancer.
James Allison, of the University of Texas, and Tasuku Honjo, of Japan’s Kyoto University, jointly received this year’s US$1 million (Dh3.6m) prize for discovering a form of therapy that has revolutionised cancer treatment.
Their work focused on stimulating the body’s immune system to fight the disease.
Their research led to successful treatment for former US president Jimmy Carter. He was treated with a drug inspired by Mr Honjo’s research.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe congratulated Mr Honjo, 76, saying that his work had given many patients hope.
The prize for the cancer researchers is the first of four being awarded this year – for medicine, physics, chemistry and the peace prize – with Thursday’s literature award shelved for a year because of controversies. The scandals, the biggest to hit the Nobels in its 117-year history, were centred on the Swedish Academy, which selects the winner of the literature award.
It started after 18 women came forward with accusations against Arnault, a French photographer whose wife, Katarina Frostenson, is a Swedish poet and an academy member.
An internal inquiry led to the police investigation. A judge and three jurors concluded unanimously yesterday that Arnault was guilty of one count of rape, but acquitted him of a second. He denied the claims.
He also denied leaking the names of seven Nobel literature laureates who were the subject of heavy betting.
The allegations against him resulted in seven members quitting the academy or announcing their intention to leave in April.
The academy announced that it was postponing this year’s award, but will announce two winners next year.