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Man at centre of Swedish Academy scandal appeals rape conviction

AFP/The Local
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Man at centre of Swedish Academy scandal appeals rape conviction
Jean-Claude Arnault arrives at court on Monday. Photo: Jonas Ekströmer/TT

Jean-Claude Arnault, the Frenchman jailed two years for rape in a scandal that led to the postponement of this year's Nobel Literature Prize, was set to appeal his verdict on Monday.

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Once an influential figure in Stockholm's cultural scene, 72-year-old Jean-Claude Arnault was found guilty in October of raping a young woman in 2011 and sentenced to two years in prison.

The case was one of the first big trials to come out of the #MeToo movement, and has left the venerable Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, in tatters.

Arnault, who has been locked up since his conviction, has insisted the sex was consensual, according to his lawyer.

The defence team for the appeal hearing has asked to call Arnault's wife Katarina Frostenson, a Swedish Academy member who has rarely spoken out since the scandal erupted, as a witness.

The appeals trial, which opens in Stockholm on Monday, is expected to be held behind closed doors, as was the initial case in a Stockholm district court.

According the the Swedish media, nine out of ten district court convictions are upheld on appeal.

The scandal eruprted in November 2017, one month after rape and sexual abuse accusations surfaced agains Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

At the time, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter published the testimonies of 18 women claiming to have been raped, sexually assaulted or harassed by Arnault.

The Frenchman ran the Forum club, which he founded in 1989 as a meeting place for the cultural elite and which was popular among aspiring young authors hoping to make contact with publishers and writers.

The Swedish Academy, which funded his club for years, has 18 members and Arnault often referred to himself as its "19th member". He reportedly occasionally leaked the names of Nobel winners to friends.

The revelations have left the prestigious body deeply divided over how to manage its ties with Arnault and his wife, with some members quitting the Academy.

His accusers claim the Academy was aware of Arnault's behaviour but ensured that "a culture of silence" reigned in cultural circles.

Discredited and without a quorum to make key decisions, the Academy postponed the announcement of the 2018 Nobel Literaure Prize for this first time in 70 years.

Several allegations against Arnault were dropped due to lack of evidence or because the statute of limitations had expired.

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