The Supreme Court of Sweden decides that Alex Schneiter can be tried in Swedish Courts.
Alex Schneiter requested that the district court should reject the indictment on the grounds that Sweden does not have jurisdiction to try him. The district court came to the conclusion that Alex Schneiter can be prosecuted in Swedish court and rejected his request. The Court of Appeal agreed with the district court’s assessment and dismissed the appeal.
In the Supreme Court, Schneiter asserted the following. The Swedish court is authorised to prosecute a person in accordance with the provisions of universal jurisdiction. However, that right is limited by ch. 2. Section 12 (formerly Section 7) of the Criminal Code which states that there must be support in international law for universal jurisdiction to be applied. No such support exists for war crimes committed in the context of a non-international armed conflict. Furthermore, there is no support in international law for exercising universal jurisdiction against someone who, when charges are brought, is not in the country.
The Swedish Supreme court held that:
The fact that Alex Schneiter is not present in the territory of Sweden does not constitute an obstacle for Sweden to prosecute him. Neither are there any limits in international law which impede Sweden’s ability to prosecute him. Alex Schneiter can therefore be prosecuted in Swedish courts and his appeal is rejected.
Below document is in Swedish. An English translation will be available shortly.