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Swedish Academy in 'crisis meeting' after turbulent week

TT/The Local
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Swedish Academy in 'crisis meeting' after turbulent week
Photo: Ann Edliden/TT

The Swedish Academy held crisis talks this weekend after its first ever female permanent secretary resigned last week.

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Two members of the body, which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, resigned on Thursday evening over a controversy that has divided the Academy into two camps. One of the two was permanent secretary Sara Danius.

The scandal centres on allegations by 18 women that they had been subject to harassment and physical abuse by Jean-Claude Arnault, the French husband of Academy member Katarina Frostenson. Arnault denies the allegations.

Frostenson also announced she would no longer take part in the Academy's work.

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“We will have crisis talks this weekend, which I will prepare for,” Academy director and acting permanent secretary Anders Olsson told newspaper Expressen.

Olsson declined to give further details.

“I do not have time to give further detail now. But we will get back to you,” he told the newspaper.

The Academy is on Monday expected to present a lawyer-led investigation into the issue, Olsson said on Friday.

According to previous reports by Swedish media including Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter, the investigation includes details over allegations that Arnault leaked names of Nobel Prize winners. He has denied those accusations through his lawyer.

The Academy has come under considerable scrutiny since Thursday, when Danius resigned as permanent secretary. 

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