French photographer at centre of Nobel row charged with rape
The French photographer at the centre of allegations of sexual assault, which contributed to the postponement of this year’s Nobel prize in literature, has been charged with two cases of rape by prosecutors in Stockholm. Jean-Claude Arnault, who is married to a member of the body that awards the prize, faces up to six years in prison if found guilty. “I think the supporting evidence is robust and strong enough to indict him,” prosecutor Christina Voigt said on Tuesday.The plaintiff accuses Arnault, who ran Forum, a literary venue in Stockholm, of raping her in October 2011 and again in December 2011.“In one of the suspected rapes there was violence,” Voigt said. “And in the other she was asleep. ”To support the prosecution, police have over the past six months held interviews with the alleged victim, with several witnesses, and with Arnault himself. Arnault denies the allegations.
“He is both disturbed and resigned,” his lawyer, Björn Hurtig, told Expressen. “He says this is totally wrong and he is completely innocent of the allegations. ”Eighteen women came forward in November in an article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper to accuse Arnault of sexually harassing or assaulting them.
The accusations led to a split in the Swedish Academy, the institution that awards the Nobel prize in literature, over its handling of the allegations, and in particular over whether Arnault’s wife, the poet Katarina Frostenson, should continue to be a member.
Arnault has also been suspected of leaking the names of winners of the prestigious award seven times since 1996, which he denies.
Three members of the 18-strong academy vacated their seats in April in protest at a decision not to expel Frostenson, followed days later by the permanent secretary, Sara Danius, and by Frostenson herself.The academy announced in May it would postpone the award of the 2018 prize, the first time the award has been delayed since 1949.The trial, which Voigt said would probably take place in the autumn, will be held behind closed doors and the plaintiff will remain anonymous .Elizabeth Massi Fritz, the plaintiff’s lawyer, said her client was “relieved and pleased” by the prosecutor’s decision. “There is extensive supporting evidence which will be tested in court,” she said in a text message sent to the Expressen newspaper. “My client has felt very bad as a result of the events, and she has been violated and humiliated in a very serious way. ”The novelist Gabriella Håkansson, one of the women who spoke in the Dagens Nyheter article, told the Guardian she was “very pleased” about the prosecution. “This is what we have been striving for the whole time, and now it will finally be tested in court,” she said. “This woman will stand symbolically for everyone who has come forward as witness to what he has done.”