Seventeen news- FIRST EVER Prominent poet papers seized ...

he freedom to express oneself in speech and writing is one of the

basic human rights according to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948. The Swedish Freedom of the Press Act was passed almost 200 years earlier, in 1766. As the first constitutionally protected freedom of the press legislation in the world, the act did not only declare freedom of the press, it also gave the citizens the legal right to scrutinise and share public documents according to the ground- breaking principle of public access to information. And all of this more than twenty years before the passing of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) and twenty-five years before the passing of the First Amendment in the US (1791).

UNFOLDED.

TOP OF THE CLASS? Recurrently ranked among the top countries on any global freedom of the press index, the story of Swedish freedom of the press has in fact been both unexpected and eventful. This unique timeline exhibition reveals how Swedish freedom of the press came about and focuses on some of the advances and setbacks that have shaped it. In the words of Swedish writer August Strindberg: ‘Persecution of the press and freedom of the press go hand in hand.’It was true when it was written in 1881. In many parts of the world it still holds true today.This is Sweden’s story.

The Swedish Freedom of the Press

‘The freedom of a nation is always proportional to its freedom of the press, so that one cannot exist without the other.’ Cleric and parliamentarian Anders Chydenius, 1766.

‘The freedom to think and to express one’s thoughts stands above all else. It is the living breath of humanity.’ Publicist Torgny Segerstedt, 1934.

#ThisIsFreedomNo. 1

T

CONFISCATION Seventeen news-papers seized in one day.

EXTRA! FIRST EVER PRESS COUNCIL FORMED!

EXILED Prominent poet banished for inciting revolution.

1942 17931916

UNFOLDED. #ThisIsFreedom

1559The Index Librorum Prohibitorum first published in Rome.

1579 Union of Utrecht treaty signed.

1581 Dutch William of Orange imposes prohibition of offensive books.

1605 First printed newspaper comes out in Strasbourg.

1643 Licensing Order of 1643 issued in England.

1644 ‘Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.’ John Milton’s Areopagitica is published.

1662 Licensing of the Press Act issued in England.

1670 ‘The more a government strives to curtail freedom of speech, the more obstinately is it resisted.’ Baruch Spinoza publishes Tractatus Theologico- Politicus.

1485 Office of the first censor created in Gutenberg’s hometown Mainz.

1450 Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press.

CENSORSHIP The guardian regency of King Charles XI (1655–1697) introduces the first real censorship laws of Sweden. Henceforth, two copies of the books printed in the kingdom are to be sent to the King’s chancery for review. Content that is considered offensive or harmful can be confiscated and fined. Already in 1662 it is stipulated that censorship reviews will take place before printing.

FIRST PRINTED BOOKThe first book to be printed in Sweden is Dialogus creaturarum, a collection of Latin-language fables, printed by German Johann Snell (before 1476– after 1519) at the Franciscan monastery on the island of Riddarholmen in Stockholm.

Dialogus creaturarum.

Image: Wikipedia.

1483

CONFISCATIONThe closure of Catholic bishop Hans Brask’s (1464–1538) printing house is the first known confiscation in Sweden. The measure is ordered by King Gustav Vasa (1496–1560) in order to curb the spread of anti-Lutheran propaganda. The same year the first royal printing house is established in Stockholm, making it the official printing house in the country.

1539Gustav Vasa sends a letter to the country’s archbishop in which he explains that nothing shall be printed without the King’s consent.

1574 –1593During the denominational strife known as the liturgical battle a number of prohibitions against both Catholic and Lutheran writings are issued. The academic censorship develops and the import of books is put under strict regulation.

1630 King Gustavus Adolphus (1594–1632) issues a mandate giving the humanist Eric Schroderus (1608–1639) the infor-mal role as censor of Stockholm. The authorisation also gives Schroderus the right to print his own publications without prior review from another authority.

1645The newspaper Ordinari Post Tijdender publishes its first issue. It is the oldest newspaper in the world that is still in circulation, now solely online (under the name Post- och Inrikes Tidningar).

1651The young chamber servant Arnold Messenius (1629–1651) is executed after having written a rhymed lampoon about Sweden’s Queen Kristina (1626–1689).

1665‘Pasquils and lampoons’ are banned. Two years later, there is also a ban on the import of ‘harmful’ books.

1661

The Swedish Empire, 1611 –1721

The era of the Swedish Empire, a time when Sweden was one of the great European powers, is characterised by both economic and territorial expansion. It is also during this period that large parts of the govern-ment administration are developed, including a statutory control over the dissemination of printed materials.

1526


1748 Charles-Louis de Secondat Montesquieu publishes De l’Esprit des lois.

1741 David Hume publishes Of the Liberty of the Press.

1740 Frederick the Great of Prussia introduces shortlived easings in censorship.

1710 The Statute of Anne issued in England.

1704 Matthew Tindal and Daniel Defoe publish Reasons against Restraining the Press and Essay on the Regulation of the Press respectively.

EXECUTIONField surgeon Johan Henrik Schönheit (unknown –1706) is exe cuted following a printing offense. His initial crime had been to issue sections from Grimmelhausen’s History of Joseph the Chaste (Histori vom keuschen Joseph) without permission. The edition was withdrawn and Schönheit fled to Hamburg, Germany. From there he continued to spread lampoons about the Swedish Privy Council. He was abducted, brought to Sweden and sen-tenced to penal servitude for life. The severity of the penalty was later increased to execution by bodily mutilation for blasphemy and crimes against the Crown.

CENSORED WRITING ON FREEDOM OF THE PRESSThe public officer Anders Nordencrantz (1697–1772) publishes Arcana Oeconomiae et Commercii, a work that in addition to articles on national economics and politics also contains a section on increased free-dom of the press. The section is, however, deleted by the censors before the work is distributed. Nordencrantz later returns to the issue and becomes one of the most important opinion formers on the intro-duction of freedom of the press.

1706

1730

‘Now the hand was severed, and then the tongue by hook pulled out and cut off, soon thereafter the head knocked off and the body burnt on pyre, and finally hand and tongue nailed to a post on the square.’ Quote from Stories from Swedish History (Berättelser ur svenska historien). The engraving by Erik Dahlbergh (1625–1703) depicts the island Koön, where the execution was carried out. Image: National Library of Sweden.

Anders Nordencrantz is one of the fore-most pioneers of Sweden’s freedom of the press. Portrait from the book The Men of Swedish Industry (Svenska industriens män), 1875. Image: Wikipedia.

1749

A decision is made to provide books approved for printing with a stamp with the word imprimatur (may be printed), followed by name of censor.

1748It becomes illegal to print Swedish manuscripts and books outside the country. The measure comes in effect to protect copyright.

1738‘That each and every citizen, without coercion or overseer, may present their thoughts to the public’s free opinion [...] will help a free people know themselves, their strengths and their weaknesses.’ Lord of the Chancery and later councillor of the state Henning Adolf Gyllenborg (1713–1775) is the first to present demands for freedom of the press to the Swedish parliament in 1738.

1686Charles XI establishes a special office, the censor librorum, for the treatment of preventive censorship.

1684Charles XI issues a formal censorship statute, vindicating the monitoring of book publishing even further. The statute remains in effect until preven-tive censorship is abolished through the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 (Tryckfrihetsförordningen)*.

Censor librorum Niclas von Oelreich’s (1699–1770)

imprimatur stamp. Source: National Library of Sweden.

Age of Liberty, 1719–1772

During the Age of Liberty the political power is transferred from the king to the Privy Council (government) and the parliament. A party system consisting of the so-called Caps and Hats emerges and the public exchange of views be-comes a natural part of politics. Upheaval takes place in a variety of areas and with them comes growing demands for greater freedom of the press.

*The Swedish name of the law has changed over the years but for simplicity’s sake we refer to it as the Freedom of the Press Act in this context.


1765

RADICAL FORERUNNER Philosopher, botanist and orientalist Peter Forsskål (1732–1763) publishes the hitherto pithiest plea for Swedish freedom of press. Only eight pages long, the pamphlet Thoughts on Civil Liberty (Tankar om borgerliga friheten) is not only politically radical, it is also more accessible than many previous publications on the subject. When the script is printed, after Forsskål finally received permission from censor Niclas von Oelreich, all copies of the booklet are ordered to be confiscated. The assignment falls on Forsskål’s former teacher, Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), who only manages to return 79 of 500 copies. Possession or resale of the work renders hefty fines.

Educated in both Uppsala and Göttingen (Germany), Peter Forsskål’s moral philo-sophical thoughts are said to have inspired Immanuel Kant (1724 –1804) himself. As a botanist Forsskål was the first person to describe the plant life of the Red Sea. He died 1763 in the wake of malaria in Yarim in present-day Yemen as part of a Danish research expedition. He was 31 years old. Painting by Paul Dahlman (1733–unknown), 1760, Uppsala University. Photo: Magnus Wallerstedt.

As the father of modern botany Carl Linnaeus named a non-stinging nettle to the memory of Peter Forsskål. The nettle was named Forsskaolea tenacissima, probably a tribute to Forsskål’s tenacity. Photo: Linnean Herbarium, Swedish Museum of Natural History.

Both Peter Forsskål and Anders Chydenius were born in present-day Finland, at the time an integrated part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Painting by Per Fjällström (1719–1790).

‘The life and strength of civil liberty consist of limited government and unlimited freedom of the written word.’ Botanist and explorer Peter Forsskål.

1765 William Blackstone publishes the first part of Commentaries on the laws of England.

1760 –1762During the parliamentary session 1760–1762, issues concerning freedom of the press appear on the national political agenda for the first time. A press freedom committee is formed and given the task to prepare the matter further.

1759

‘Longing for news from Sweden, [to see] what political changes there have been, and what fate my small publications have met’, Peter Forsskål wrote in a letter to Carl Linnaeus from Alexandria 2 April 1762. Linnaeus’ reply is not known. The picture shows Forsskål’s last letter to his former master, dated a little over a month before his death. Photo of the original manuscript, published with permission from the Linnean Society of London.

MEMORIAL ON FREEDOM After 25 years in opposition, the Caps is in government. They initiate a compre hensive constitutional revision, which includes the question of free-dom of the press. The priest Anders Chydenius (1729–1803), later known as ‘The Nordic Adam Smith’, is a driving force and author behind one of the three pleas for freedom of the press submitted to parliament. ‘No evidence should be needed that a certain freedom of writing and printing is one of the strongest bulwarks of a free organisation of the state,’ Chydenius concludes in his memorial.

1766

The original Swedish Freedom of the Press Act.Photo: Fredrik Funck/DN/TT

King Adolphus Frederick (1710–1771)

On 2 December 1766 Sweden be-comes the first country in the world with a constitutionally protected free-dom of the press. With the passing of the Freedom of the Press Act, preven-tive censorship is abolished, except for religious topics, and the author is primarily responsible for any text. ‘Everything that is not clearly contrary to that [the act] is to be regarded as legitimate to write and print, in what-ever language or in whatever style it may be written.’ (§ 5)

DOUBLE MILESTONEThe act also breaks ground for the principle of public access to informa-tion, which makes it legal to publish and read the minutes and documents from public agencies, parliament and government. Founded 200 years be-fore any similar freedom of information legalisation in the world, this principle of public availability is still one of the cornerstones of the Swedish Constitution. ‘This freedom of the press will further include all exchanges of correspon-dence, species facti, documents, protocols, judgments and awards, whether they were produced in the past or will be initiated, maintained, presented, conducted and issued hereafter [...].’ (§ 6)

Of the political pamphlets published between 1700 and 1809, 75% are printed the years following the Freedom of the Press Act.

Between 1767 and 1772 the publication of politi-cal pamphlets increases by 769% compared to the same period before the introduction of freedom of the press.

‘Having considered the great advantages that flow to the public from a lawful freedom of writing and of the press, [...] We [the King] have graciously decided that the regulations issued previously on this matter [...] may be removed.’

THE WORLD’S FIRST FREEDOM OF THE PRESS ACT


KING ISSUES RESTRICTIONSTwo years after seizing power, Gustav III presents an alternative Freedom of the Press Act. It is written in permissive terms, but leaves it to the king’s discretion to determine what gets printed. Penalties are made more severe and infringements can in many cases lead to execution. The act also increases the responsibility of book printers and introduces strong limitations on the principle of access to public information.

1774

Gustav III often presented himself as a true man of the Enlightenment, and sent the new law to the philoso-pher Voltaire (1694–1778) along with a personal letter in which he praised the addressee. No known reply from Voltaire exists. Painting by Lorens Pasch (1733–1805).

1790Newspapers and weekly magazines are prohibited to write anything that concerns the unrest in France. In 1791 book printers are also prohibited to mention ‘the French matters’.

1785Privilege requirements are introduced for the periodical press. In practice, it is a publication permit that gives the authorities the right to prevent the spread of a newspaper or magazine by revoking the licence for further publishing (the so-called ‘withdrawal power’). The same year censorship of the theatre is introduced.

1770 Denmark introduces un-restricted freedom of the press. The law is retracted 13 months later.

1769 Liberal censorship laws passed in Bavaria.

1767 Catherine the Great publishes her Instruction.

1791Thomas Paine publishes The Rights of Man.

First Amendment is passed in the US.

1789The French National Constituent Assembly passes the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

1788 Friedrich Wilhelm II issues the Renewed Censorship Edict in Prussia.

1781 Joseph II of Austria issues Basic Rules for Determining a Favorable Future Censor-ship of Books.

1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights is passed in the US.

The Gustavian Age, 1772 –1809

In 1772, only six years following the passing of the Freedom of the Press Act, King Gustav III (1746 –1792) carries out a coup d’état, which strengthens the monarchy and abolishes parlia-mentary dominance. Public discussions about past political parties are banned, and free political opinion- forming is repealed.

‘THE KING IS SHOT!’

The economically costly war against Russia and the reintroduced royal powers lead to a con spiracy formed within Swedish nobility against the king. On 16 March 1792 Gustav III is shot during a masquerade ball in Stockholm. However, it takes two weeks before the king dies, and the planned coup is interrupted.

‘It is primarily you [Voltaire] that we humans have to thank for being able to overcome and destroy the obstacles that have been placed in our way by ignorance, fanaticism and wrongful policy. Perhaps you will say thanks to this decree that freedom of press is more widespread in Sweden than in any other country [...].’ Photo: Uppsala University/Magnus Hjalmarsson.

THE ‘IRON YEARS’, 1792 –1809

In place of the still underage King Gustav IV Adolf (1778 –1837)

Sweden is governed by regency between 1792 and 1797. For fear of

the opposition and of revolutionary ideas from France the new king’s

reign is soon marked by increasingly repressive policies. The period is referred to as the iron years’,

not least for the many restrictions on freedom of expression.


1793

1802

1810

1792

1798King Gustav IV Adolf introduces, among other things, increased privilege requirements for periodical publications. Around the turn of the century several newspapers lose their publishing permit and a large number are subject to censorship.

FREEDOM OF PRESS SETBACKFollowing the assassination of King Gustav III a new Freedom of the Press Act is passed. It partially relates to the 1766 law, but has no penal provisions and is therefore almost useless as a legal tool. A first revision is done already after five months. This is followed by successive tightening of the law. The principle of access to public information is now removed.

PROMINENT POET BANISHEDThe poet Thomas Thorild (1759–1808) is sen-tenced to four years banishment after publishing On the Freedom of Common Sense (Om det allmänna förståndets frihet), in which he called for unrestricted freedom of expression and universal suffrage. In the eyes of the court, however, the incitement to revolution found in the introduction is even more problematic: ‘Give us then the freedom of public under-standing, honest and clean: before it with blood and violence is taken.’

CENSORSHIP TIGHTENEDThe chancellor of the royal court is instructed to monitor the production and distribution of all printed publications in the country. Extensive restrictions on libraries and book auctions are also introduced.

1796 Catherine the Great abol-ishes free press in Russia.

1798 Constitutional guarantee for freedom of expression is issued in the Netherlands.

Freedom of the press is issued in Switzerland.

1799 Preventive censorship is re-imposed in Denmark.

1800 Russia bans import of books.

King Gustav IV Adolf shows foreign newspapers the door. Satirical drawing by Per Otto Adelborg (1781–1818). Reproduction: Andrea Davis Kronlund, National Library of Sweden.

A MODERN PRESS FREEDOM TAKES SHAPEA renewed Freedom of the Press Act is passed for the first time since 1792. The new act regulates in detail the freedom of press similar to the principles of 1766 and reinstates the principle of access to public information. Preventive censorship reviews of religious writings are abolished, and only the Chancellor of Justice can prosecute cases under freedom of the press.

1803The import of Danish books and magazines is prohibited. A year later the ban is extended to also include French publications. The ban comes at a time when the conflict between Sweden and the newly crowned French Emperor Napoleon (1769–1821) has become acute.

1808Swede C. F. Ehrensvärd (1767–1815), living in Copenhagen, Denmark, protests against the ban on importing foreign printed material by attaching leaflets to balloons and sending them across the strait to Sweden. The startling approach makes the pub-lication known as the ‘Balloon Placard’.

DETHRONEMENT AND NEW INSTRUMENT OF GOVERNMENTOn 10 May 1809 Gustav IV Adolf is deposed in a coup. A new instrument of government again makes the freedom of the press and the principle of access to public information constitutionally protected rights. In the country’s former eastern part, Finland, that same year lost to Russia, the freedom of the press decree from 1792 remains well into the 1820s.


NEW RESTRICTIONSYet another renewed Freedom of the Press Act imposes restrictions, particularly for the periodical press. The so-called ‘withdrawal power’ (to revoke licences for further publishing) from 1785 is reintroduced. The chancellor of the royal court can revoke printing permission if writing is deemed ‘dangerous to public safety’. The act remains with certain changes until 1949.

1884

1881 Law on the freedom of the press issued in France.

1874 The Imperial Press Law issued in Germany.

1869 Publication Ordinance of 1869 issued in Japan.

1859 John Stuart Mill publishes On Liberty.

1858 First message sent via the transatlantic telegraph cable.

1857 Regional censorship issued in the Ottoman Empire.

1854 General Federal Provisions Regarding the Abuse of the Press issued in Germany.

1849 Fyodor Dostoyevsky is arrested for participating in meeting on freedom of expression.

1848 Statuto Albertino (later the Constitution of unified Italy) grants freedom of the press.

1887A prosecution campaign against newspapers with Social Democratic ideologies begins. Between 1887 and 1889, there are 14 individual criminal charges under freedom of the press against the Social Democratic papers. Nine of the cases result in imprison-ment.

1874The Swedish Publicists’ Association (Publicistklubben) is formed in order to raise the status of and public confidence in the press.

1872The mandatory censor preview of plays intended to be performed on stage is abolished.

1853King Oscar I (1799–1859) presents a bill to repeal the constitutional pro-tection of the freedom of the press. The purpose is to introduce further restrictions in Swedish press freedom, including freedom of information. The bill is rejected by parliament in 1856.

1844The ‘withdrawal power’ is revoked. Any interference in the freedom of the press is now only possible after court proceedings.

‘The more public the debate, the more refined the arguments.’ Writer and feminist pioneer Ellen Key, 1889.

1835

1812

STRINDBERG ON TRIAL!The trial of August Strindberg’s (1849–1912) short-story collection Getting Married (Giftas) belongs to the most famous historical cases of Swedish press freedom. The charges relate primarily to the short story The Reward of Virtue (‘Dygdens lön’) and its presumed blas-phemous description of the protagonist’s experience of communion, or as it says in the indictment: ‘blasphemy against God or mockery of God’s word or the sacraments.’ Strindberg’s lampoon of what is perceived to be the Swedish Queen Sophia (1836–1913) in the same collection may be a contributing factor to the charges brought. Strindberg, however, leaves the battle victorious and is cleared of the charges.

Swedish Queen Sophia (on the left) laments the acquittal of Strindberg in the company of the Swedish Justice Minister Nils von Steyern (1839–1899) and parliamentary member C. O. Berg (1839–1903). Satirical drawing by Edvard Forsström (1854–1934). Reproduction: Andrea Davis Kronlund, National Library of Sweden.

August Strindberg is con-sidered one of Sweden’s most well-known writers and playwrights of all time. Photo: Selfportrait/National Library of Sweden.

1835 The July Monarchy issues laws to restrict freedom of press in France.

1832 Liberal press law passed in the Republic of Baden.

1829 Preventive censorship is issued in Finland.

1826 Censorship Statute (‘Iron Statute’) approved in Russia.

1819 The Carlsbad Decrees expands censorship of the press in the German Confederation.

1814 The Constitution of Norway includes freedom to print.

1812 Article 371 of the Spanish Constitution of Cádiz intro-duces freedom of press.

THE ‘WITHDRAWAL POWER’ IS CHALLENGEDWith support of the ‘withdrawal power’ the liberal newspaper Aftonbladet has its publishing rights revoked 14 times between 1835 and 1838. Because the withdrawals can only be directed against the editor-in-chief, in this case the founder Lars Johan Hierta (1801–1872), a new editor-in-chief is promoted for every new withdrawal. For each withdrawal, the news paper is published under a new name, from The New Aftonbladet, The Third Aftonbladet, and so on. During this process, Hierta is prosecuted a total of eight times.


1916

1933

The Swedish Writers’ Union (as of 1971 Sveriges Författarförbund) is created. More than 120 years later it is the largest writers’ union in Scandinavia with more than 3,000 members, writing in at least 30 different languages.

1901The Swedish Union of Journalists (as of 1950 Svenska Journalistförbundet) is created. Some 115 years later the union has approximately 17,500 members.

1911Film censorship by the state is intro-duced. It is formally lifted in 2011.

1922Swedish PEN is founded only one year after the original PEN Club in London, making it one of the oldest PEN centres in the world.

1925Swedish Radio starts broadcasting on New Year’s Day 1925.

FIRST PRESS COUNCIL IN THE WORLD The Swedish Press Council (Pressens Opinionsnämnd, PON) is formed. The council is the oldest of its kind in the world and its purpose is to resolve disputes between newspapers, and between newspapers and the public. The same year the first rules about press ethics are adopted. With a view to create a stronger protection for indi-viduals, in 1969 the Press Ombudsman (Allmänhetens Pressombudsman, PO) is established.

‘HERR HITLER IS AN INSULT’The editor-in-chief of Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfarts tidning, Torgny Segerstedt (1876–1945), publishes one of Swedish press history’s most well-known articles. The article begins and ends with the words ‘Herr Hitler is an insult’ and results in a telegram from Hermann Goering threatening to take the matter further if the writings don’t immediately cease. The event is the prelude to a long struggle between Segerstedt and the Nazi-German as well as the Swedish government during the coming war.

1895 Oscar Wilde sentenced to two years hard labor for committing ‘indecent acts’.

1917 Decree on the Press is published in Russia, giving the Council of Commissars the right to close down newspapers which advo-cate resistance to the new authorities or sows ’confusion by the obvious distortion of facts’.

1925 Benito Mussolini intro-duces press laws, requiring all journalists to be officially listed in the Ordine dei giornalisti.

1933 The Editors Law forbids ‘non-Aryans’ to work in journalism in Nazi Germany.

Torgny Segerstedt depicted on a Swedish stamp com-memorating the centennial anniversary of his birth in 1976. Image: Postmuseum, Sweden.

WORLD WAR I AND BETWEEN THE WARS During World War I, 99 criminal charges are brought against newspapers. A third of these concern ‘reviews and opinions about contemporary nations or states that are abusive, assailing or intended to create discord with foreign powers.’ Also, the self-regulating system that Swedish press is still working under is now developed, principally thanks to the formation of the Swedish Press Council in 1916.

1893

1918 Article 118 of The Weimar Constitution forbids censorship.

1919 Founding of the League of Nations in Geneva.

1921 James Joyce’s Ulysses banned in the US.

Founding of PEN (Poets, Essayists, Novelists) in London.

1926 International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is founded in Paris.

1933THE KRUSENSTJERNA FEUDThe Krusenstjerna feud is a debate based on a series of novels by author Agnes von Krusenstjerna (1894 –1940), whose overtly sexual and even homosexual themes attracts debaters from all ideologies and beliefs. The debate con-tinues for two years. Despite numerous demands to inter-vene against ‘morally in-appropriate’ literature, she is not prosecuted.


‘A SWEDE KEEPS QUIET’The National Information Board (Statens Infor ma-tions styrelse, SIS) is set up to inform, review and control Swedish opinion making and press. For the latter a press commission, Pressnämnden, is created as a ‘voluntary control system with the involvement of the press’. In 1941 the board launches the campaign En svensk tiger – with the double meaning of ‘A Swedish tiger’ and

‘A Swede keeps quiet’. Illustrated with a blue- and yellow-striped tiger, the campaign aims to underline the importance of vigilance and to be strong in the current situation.

MASS CONFISCATIONSeventeen different newspapers are seized in the course of a single day after it is learned that they plan to jointly publish a number of testimonies concerning torture by German soldiers in Norwegian prisons. Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning is unable to print its edition before special press violation monitors intervene and force them to remove the article. The editors leave the headline intact as a reminder of the practical effects of censorship.

1940 1940A bomb attack completely destroys the editorial offices of socialist paper Norrskensflamman in Luleå in northern Sweden. The attack follows in the wake of the paper’s commitment to the Soviet Union during the ongoing Winter War against Finland, and is considered the most grievous of its kind in Sweden’s modern history. Five people are killed in the explosion.

1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech.

1940 US Congress passes the Smith Act.

1939Publicist Ture Nerman (1886–1969) is prosecuted for the article ‘Hitler’s Machine from Hell’. Nerman is convicted and sentenced to three months imprisonment for ‘defamation of a foreign power’.

‘Buy Swedish newspapers!’ is

the headline for satire cartoonist

Ivar Starkenberg’s (1886–1947)

depiction of the Minister of Jus-

tice K. G. Westman (1876–1944)

as a watchful shadow in the

fictional district of ‘Greater free-

dom’, published in the news-

paper Despite All! (Trots allt!)

in January 1942. Reproduction:

Andrea Davis Kronlund,

National Library of Sweden.

Photo: National Archives, Norway.

‘A free press – that is the weapon that may never be surrendered.’ Writer Vilhelm Moberg, 1940.

1938 Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Photo: Susanne Lindholm/TT.

United Nations established in New York.

1945

FREEDOM OF PRESS UNDER PRESSURE, 1939 –1945During World War II, the Swedish coalition government takes a number of measures to control the press; there is concern that its long-standing neutrality might be compromised should the national press become too vocal in its opinions. Among other things, a transport ban gives the government the ability to prevent sensi-tive writings to be disseminated using public transport. An outdated clause in the 1812 Freedom of the Press Act also allows writings considered to cause ‘mis-understandings with a foreign power’ to be seized. A special censorship law is also introduced but it is never activated.

1942


1949

1973

1991

2001

1956First national television broadcasts.

1967The author Ing-Marie Eriksson (b. 1932) is convicted of defamation after several residents of the author’s childhood village felt they had been adversely singled out in the novel Märit (1965). Eriksson is sentenced to pay fines and damages.

1999Journalist ‘Peter Karlsson’ (pseudonym) is seriously injured when a bomb explodes in his car. The attack takes place in conjunction with Karlsson’s investigation of right-wing extremism and the white power culture. The journalist’s eight-year-old son is also injured in the explosion.

THE CURRENT FREEDOM OF THE PRESS ACTFour years after World War II, the Freedom of the Press Act that applies today comes into effect. Source protection and whistle- blowing protection are among the new fea-tures in the 1949 Freedom of the Press Act.

THE ‘IB’ EXPOSUREBeginning in May 1973, journalists Jan Guillou (b. 1944) and Peter Bratt (b. 1944), together with photographer Ove Holmqvist (b. 1941) and main source Håkan Isacson (1943–2002), publish a series of articles revealing that secret intelligence agency ‘IB’, the so-called Information Office (Informationsbyrån), has conducted extensive registration of political left sympathisers in the country. The journalists are sentenced to one year in prison for espionage. A freedom of the press prosecution is also initiated, but is closed down.

THE FUNDAMENTAL LAW ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSIONThe Swedish parliament adopts the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (Yttrandefrihets-grundlagen). It is Sweden’s newest addition to the Constitution and regulates freedom of expression in audio-visual media, including radio, television, film and, to a certain extent, the internet.

PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE DAWIT ISAAKSwedish–Eritrean journalist and writer Dawit Isaak (b. 1964) is imprisoned in Eritrea. Isaak is the only Swede Amnesty International considers a prisoner of conscience and the only EU citizen imprisoned for his opinions. On 23 September 2016, Isaak has been detained for fifteen years.

NEW BEGINNINGS Towards the end of World War II a committee is tasked to review the exist-ing press law from 1812. The intention is to prevent restric tions of the kind that occurred during the war years. A new act is adopted in 1949 and since then Sweden has seen very few freedom of the press pros-ecutions of importance.

1993 Cities of Asylum Net-

work (INCA) is founded by the International Parlia-ment of Writers (IPW).

Signing of the Bangkok Declaration.

2000 EU proclaims Charter of Fundamental Rights.

2001 Wikipedia launched.

EU adopts regulation no. 1049/2001 on access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents.

‘The freedom of the press is understood to mean the right of every Swedish citizen to publish written matter, without prior hindrance by a public authority or other public body, and not to be prosecuted thereafter on grounds of its content other than before a lawful court [...].’ (Freedom of the Press Act, article 1.)

Dawit Isaak was arrested in Eritrea in September 2001, along with ten other independent journalists. He has still not received any trial. Photo: unknown.

1976 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) adopted.

1987 Founding of Article 19.

1991 World Wide Web is introduced.

Signing of the Windhoek Declaration in Namibia.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is adopted by the UN General Assembly.

1948

1950 European Convention on Human Rights adopted.

1954 The First National People’s Congress lists freedom of the press as part of the first Constitution of the People’s Republic of China.

1965 Writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer imprisoned in Indonesia.

1966 The Freedom of Information Act adopted in the US.

1969 First Internet message transmitted.

1974 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn deported from the Soviet Union.

1985 Founding of Reporters Without Borders in Paris.

1989 Ayatollah Khomeini issues fatwa against writer Salman Rushdie.


JOURNALISTS ARRESTEDJournalists Martin Schibbye (b. 1980) and Johan Persson (b. 1982) are arrested while reporting from the Ogaden territory in Ethiopia. After being charged using anti-terror legislation they are sentenced to eleven years in prison. They are freed after 438 days.

2011

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CORRESPONDENT SHOT DEAD

THE LARS VILKS CONTROVERSY Following the Muhammad drawings controversy in Denmark in 2006, the Vilks controversy begins with a series of drawings by Swedish artist Lars Vilks (b. 1946) that depicts the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a roundabout dog (a form of street installation in Sweden). The controversy gains international attention after a regional newspaper publishes one of the drawings as part of an editorial on self- censorship and freedom of religion. An attack likely targeting Vilks in Copenhagen in 2015 leaves one person dead. Lars Vilks is still living under police protection.

2007

2014

2014Controversial street artist Dan Park (b. 1968) is sentenced to five months in prison for hate speech and de-famation after exhibiting nine racially challenging paintings at a gallery in Malmö. The gallery owner is also convicted of hate speech, but does not receive a prison sentence.

2009Sweden is ranked no. 1 in the world according to Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.

2008A new legislation allows the National Defence Radio Establishment (För-svarets radioanstalt, FRA) to monitor cable- bound signals passing the Swedish border. To collect information, however, FRA needs a court decision.

2007Swedish video tool Bambuser is launched. The service allows users to share video files in real time and have a major impact of the Arab Spring when more than 10,000 video files are shared during a single day.

The communication platform Skype is launched by Swedish entre- preneur Niklas Zennström (b. 1966), Janus Friis from Denmark and Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu and Jaan Tallinn from Estonia. Software encryption makes it a favoured communications tool by journalists and human rights activists. As of August 2015 over 300 million use Skype each month. It is now owned by Microsoft.

2007Turkish–Armenian editor Hrant Dink shot dead in Istanbul.

2006 The murder of Anna Politkovskaya in Russia.

WikiLeaks launches website. The Danish Muhammad cartoons controversy.

Founding of International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN).

Twitter launched.

2004 Facebook is founded.

OpenNet Initiative launched.

2013 WikiLeaks source army private Chelsea Manning charged for violations of the US Espionage Act.

White House launches the Open Government Initiative. Whistle-blower Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance activities.

2009 Maguindanao massacre leaves at least 34 journal-ists killed by Philippine militia, making it the worst single attack on the press in modern history.

29 journalists take legal action against EU over refusal to hand over files.

The attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

Photo: Staffan Sonning/Radio Sweden.

2015

In 2015 only 1,2% or 4 of the 342 entries for publication and freedom of speech violations lodged with the Chancellor of Justice (JK) went to prosecution.

‘This is Nils Horner, re-porting for Radio Sweden from...’ In 2014, one of Swedish radio’s most well-known foreign cor-respondent voices is silenced as Nils Horner (1962–2014) is shot dead on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan. Since the 1970s, seven Swedish journalists have been killed during assignments abroad.

CURATORS OF SWEDENIn 2011, Sweden becomes the first country in the world to hand over its official Twitter account, @sweden, to its citizens. The aim is to present Sweden through the mix of people it actually consists of, thereby conveying not one Sweden, but several. Through the Curators of Sweden project, Sweden shows freedom of speech in practice.

Photo: Lena Granefelt/imagebank.sweden.se

Seventeen news- FIRST EVER Prominent poet papers seized ...

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