Status: 05.09.2022 1:22 p.m
Two Swedes have been convicted in the newly opened trial of disturbing the peace of the grave – for exploring the wreck of the Baltic Sea ferry “Estonia”, which sank in 1994. In 2021, the court initially acquitted the two men.
In a newly-opened trial about photographs of the wreck of the Baltic Sea ferry “Estonia”, two accused Swedes have been sentenced to fines for violating the grave peace. In contrast to an acquittal a good year and a half ago, the Gothenburg district court came to the conclusion in a judgment that has now been published that the journalist and the wreck expert could still be convicted under the Swedish Estonia law.
Wreck is protected as a resting place
The “Estonia” sinking is considered Europe’s largest ship disaster in post-war history. The ferry sank in 1994 in international waters off the south coast of Finland while en route from Tallinn to Stockholm with 989 people on board. 852 people died, only 137 survived. Because many of the dead could not be recovered, the wreck is protected as a resting place and may not be visited – this is stipulated in the grave peace. Why the “Estonia” sank has not yet been clarified beyond doubt.
The ferry “Estonia” of the shipping company Estline in an undated archive picture. She sank in 1994 with 989 people on board.
Image: dpa
Ship sailed under the German flag
Documentary filmmaker Henrik Evertsson and wreck expert Linus Andersson were part of a film crew that lowered a submersible robot to the “Estonia” in September 2019. Among other things, they discovered a hole in the hull several meters wide, as they revealed in a documentary series in September 2020.
The Gothenburg court acquitted the two men in February 2021. His original view was that while the action was punishable under Swedish law, a conviction was not possible because they had launched the diving robot from a German-flagged ship in international waters.
According to the court’s assessment at the time, Germany was not bound by the peace agreement between Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The German ship is considered German territory.
Appeal is still possible
However, an appellate court returned the case to the court for re-examination in early 2022. The penalty was set at 40 daily rates of 470 or 560 Swedish crowns respectively – the total amounts converted to around 1750 or 2100 euros. The verdict can be appealed within the next three weeks.