The Dutch witnesses to the incident involving Joost Klein at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö provided a different interpretation than the Swedish witnesses. This was stated by Fredrik Jönsson, the public prosecutor from the Swedish Justice Department who closed the investigation due to a lack of evidence.
The Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office interviewed five witnesses in the Netherlands. “Some of them were present at the incident, while others were not but had additional information,” said Jönsson. “I cannot go into detail about what was exactly said, but the witnesses in the Netherlands did offer a somewhat different interpretation of Joost Klein’s intention when making the movement towards the camera.”
The investigation by the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office showed that the Dutch Eurovision contestant made a movement towards the camerawoman’s camera, during which the camera was hit. Jönsson stated: “I cannot prove that he did this to cause her severe fear or that he had any intention other than stopping the filming. However, it has been proven that he hit the camera, as confirmed by testimonies, including that of Joost Klein himself.”
Threatening Gesture
Swedish criminal law expert Dennis Martinsson commented that he had expected the investigation to be closed. “It cannot be proven that a crime was committed, which is usually the reason why a preliminary investigation like this is closed,” he said. “A threatening gesture is generally not enough for a conviction.”
When the case was initially taken up, it was handled under expedited proceedings, but this was no longer the case after Joost Klein’s lawyer requested that more witnesses be heard in the Netherlands.
Martinsson added: “Apparently, the witnesses in the Netherlands provided the missing pieces of the puzzle. There are clearly different versions of what exactly happened.”
