A new espionage law, which came into effect in Sweden on January 1, has been met with widespread criticism from journalists and progressive sections within the country and abroad. The Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, passed the law on November 16, 2022, with 270 votes in favor and 37 against. The law makes amendments to the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression to incorporate and criminalize “foreign espionage,” “aggravated foreign espionage,” and “disclosure of secret information in the framework of international cooperation” in the Swedish penal code.
The right-wing Swedish Democrats, the Center Party, the Social Democrats, the Moderate Party, and the Liberal Party voted in favor of the bill, while MPs from the Left Party and the Greens voted against. As the parliament was voting on the bill back in November, hundreds of people demonstrated at Mynttorget in Stockholm in protest.
According to reports, the new law will allow police to investigate publishers, journalists, and whistleblowers if they expose secret or sensitive information that may damage Sweden’s relationship with another state or an international organization, such as the NATO, European Union (EU), or the United Nations (UN). If such allegations are ‘proved,’ sentences of up to four years can be given for publicizing sensitive information.
The law has been criticized by journalists and their unions as being detrimental to freedom of the press and speech, and likely to...
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